AGARTALA / BISALGARH, October 24 (TIWN): Deputy Director of Information and Cultural Affairs department and former BDO of Bishalgarh Bimal Chakraborty is sent to five days police remand on Thursday when he has surrendered before Sub-Divisional Judicial magistrate. BDO Bimal is the prime accused of misappropriation of MGNREGA fund to the tune of Rs 17 crores during his tenure as BDO in Bishalgarh. On September 19 this year, the incumbent BDO of Bishalgarh Subrata Das lodged FIR against Bimal and 11 others official in the local police station.However, Bimal’s close sources now made it clear that in police custody he will divulge in details, if requires Bimal will make his statement before magistrate. Because out of the looted money of Rs 17 crore, as per his relatives, Bimal hardly got big funds except a mere Rs 50 Lakhs for face-lifting of his house at Badharghat and a few family vacation trips. Some amount of money has been saved in a nationalized bank in the name of his in-laws for future of his son. Rest major amount has been taken away by others who are going to be revealed by Bimal but Manik is desperately trying to stop him speaking.

Both CPI-M party and Manik Sarkar himself said top bosses of police trying to convince Bimal that he should take the whole responsibility on his shoulder without putting others of the party in trouble and in return party will take care of his future and his brothers and families. So, at the earliest, Manik Sarkar wants to kill all the evidence of the case through police at least to save him. He is also ready to sacrifice Bhanu Lal for this and party has decided if situation demands they will axe Bhanu immediately.   

On last Monday, after a month of lodging FIR the state government suspended him from the service. Despite his unauthorized absent in duty for a month to evade arrest, the govt did not take any action.

According to report, Bimal accompanied by his defense lawyer surrendered before the court and police demanded 10 days custody. However, court sent him police remand for five days. He will be produced before the court again on next Monday.

In early this year, the state audit department found misappropriation of Rs 17 Crore amount sanctioned under MGNREGA scheme in seven village Panchayats and audit is not completed in rest 29 Panchayats and 11 Village councils under ADC.

Audit officials however, stated total misappropriation in the block during Bimal’s tenures has already crossed Rs 44 Cr but audit is not completed in the all the expenditure incurred since 2011-12.

After completion of audit in seven Panchayats the then Finance Minister Badal Choudhury asked the administration to lodge FIR against Bimal and others within a week on May 19 this year.

On May 23, Badal Choudhury was shifted from finance to health and file was kept in abeyance till opposition congress exposed it on September 18 this year. In cabinet reshuffle, finance portfolio went to Bhanu Lal Saha, elected from Bishalgarh and accused in the scam.

Bimal Chakraborty belongs to a powerful CPI-M family and close to Manik Sarkar. His elder brother Amal Chakraborty is CPI-M youth wing DYFI’s Secretary. Another elder brother Kamal Chakraborty is Commandant of Tripura State Rifles and eldest brother Shyamal Chakraborty is a Chemistry teacher in Calcutta University who is proposed to be Vice Chancellor of newly coming Tripura state university.

The demand to shift the trial of Bimal Chakraborty from Bishalgarh Judicial Magistrate Court has gained a ground as Bimal’s sister in-law and Kamal’s wife Susmita is working as PA of the Magistrate  Purander Prasad Pal.

There is every possibility of her influence in the case.

Bimal’s surrendered in holiday court today assumed to be significant. Because on next Monday Congress is going to High Court demanding CBI probe into the corruption and the state government is in fear if CBI comes, everything will be opened and Manik’s camouflage character will be exposed before the nation.

Entire opposition accused Chief Minister Manik Sarkar for delaying in action against Bimal Chakraborty and said, “Whenever his cabinet colleagues and senior bureaucrats wanted to take action against corruption he prevented and finally reshuffled the cabinet to save the corrupt officers.”

Referring to Rs 27 Cr NRHM scam in Unokoti district, BJP state president Sudhindra Dasgupta alleged that the then District Magistrate Abhishek Chandra had wanted to take action against the accused last year but Sarkar openly asked him to stop investigation and finally transferred him to Agartala Municipal Corporation.

“The same thing was happened in Rs 5 Cr scam in Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RAMSA). Whenever education minister took initiative for administrative action against the corruption at initial stage, most of file related to it went to Chief Minister’s office directly. To avoid education minister Sarkar’s office compelled junior officers to issue purchase order of his book and former Chief Secretary and present Textile Secretary Dr S K Panda’s book  One plus one equals to Eleven to schools from RMSA fund,” Dasgupta added.  

Only a full fledged CBI investigation under a sitting High Court Judge will unearth the Chief Kingpin of massive corruptions in Tripura.