AGARTALA, Oct 10 (TIWN Exclusive): National Book Trust (NBT) of India, an apex body of Govt of India, established to develop reading culture among the youngsters has opened up a new chain of corruption in book sellers of Tripura. After exposure of business fraud of Jnan Bichitra to the tune of a few lakh rupees from public ex-chequer by publication of books of the Chief Minister Manik Sarkar and former Chief Secretary of Tripura S K Panda, another fraud of publication industry caught attention of the administration.According to report, Akhar publication, a venture of one Subhabrata Deb has been earning the money of NBT’s book promotion program besides, hefty commission on book sale of the trust. The publication has been earning commission more than Rs 12 lakh every year from Tripura government by supplying NBT books to the different library. Moreover, in past three years he received more than Rs 30 lakh from NBT for organizing book promotion program and reading motivation camps with the students, report said.

“But taking the advantage of proximity with Chief Minister Manik Sarkar through family link and close rapport with corrupt circle of state CPI-M party, Mr Deb neither supplied the books to the library even after receiving payment from the govt nor organized the promotion program, for which fund given by NBT,” sources in state audit department said.

Akhar publication received the book consignment from the NBT against the requisition and accordingly received the payment from the respective departments but allegedly did not supply the book properly.

In a few cases, the same titles have been supplied to the library in five consecutive purchase orders. Subhabrata Deb, in connivance with the corrupt officials of the state administration and NBT’s Regional office has been doing the illegal business for past few years.

Deb’s business started 7-8 years ago when he was the Secretary, Tripura Publishers’ Guild. NBT used to collect the supply order through the Guild and the share of commission was distributed among all the book sellers.

But Mr Deb over the years managing NBT’s Regional Officer Mr Subir of Kolkata and transferred the dealership of NBT in his name striking out Guild’s entity. When NBT raised the issue Deb’s agent in the trust managed it by saying that Guild was not interested to do the business any more.

Tripura Publishers’ Guild, known to be CPI-M’s agent in the cover of cultural activism in the state, obviously moves the Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, the guardian of all evils and devils against the mischief of Subhabrata Deb. But naturally, it does not yield any impressive result. Of course, the leaders of the Guild like Jnan Bichitra etc.. got assurance of business otherwise.

After Jnan Bichitra episode, the administration started looking at the govt supplies and found that Debananda Dam’s temporary departure from the association of Manik Sarkar and his government, Subhabrata Deb in the name progressive comrade (!) tried to get all the business of Dam in his fold.

Like Dam couple, Subhabrata also by his hired intellectuality and  narrow mind spreaded his net from Chief Minister’s office to Tripura University through corrupt politicians and clerks.

Report said Akhar publication is the next target of honest administrators of Manik’s regime. Subhabrata is also the similar harbinger of headless and mindless liquor fond intellectuals who are having rapport with third grade writers of Left ruled West Bengal and misguide the Tripura government.

He is also belong to the same group of intellectual who never open mouth against molestation and battering of housewives in public, giving shelter to Rs 17 Cr looter comrade Bimal Chakraborty and never opposes any misdeed in left front government for narrow business interest.

Subhabrata is the comrade who stopped daily publication of leftists against misrule of Congress led coalition government in 1988 from his press at the instruction of former Chief Minister Samir Ranjan Barman, which led to closer of the newspaper.

However, at the grace of God Karl Marx, Manik Sarkar and his party forgotten those incidents and provided them space to do business at his/their lap by molesting all modesty of human values and culture.