AGARTALA, April 21 (TIWN): Scamster BDO Bimal Chakraborty, who was in jail remand in connection with the Rs. 17 crores MGNREGA scam at Bishalgarh block was released on bail by the Bishalgarh court on Monday giving much shy of relief to the ruling CPI(M) party. Surrendered before the court on October 24,2014, the so called blue eyed boy of chief minister Manik Sarkar and the elder brother of DYFI leader and Tripura State Secretary, Amal Chakraborty got the bail as the police failed to submit a fool-proof chargesheet into the case even after 180 days of registering the case in the Bishalgarh Police Station by the incumbent BDO Subrata Das. Two other accused in the case had obtained bail earlier taking the toll to three although two more accused including a woman engineer of the block is still absconding the arrest in the high profile case. It may be mentioned here that the scam tainted BDO had surrendered before the Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate (SDJM) of Bishalgarh on October 24, 2014 after a long drama. Mr. Chakraborty is the prime accused of misappropriation of MGNREGA fund during his tenure as BDO Bishalgarh.

On September 19 last, the incumbent BDO of Bishalgarh Subrata Das had lodged FIR against Bimal and 11 others official in the Bishalgarh  police station. After a month of lodging the FIR,  the state government suspended him from the service on Oct 20, 2014. It may be mentioned here that despite his unauthorized absent in duty for a month to evade arrest, the govt did not take any action against him.

The state audit department found misappropriation of Rs. 17 Cr 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, had stated that total  misappropriation in the block during Bimal’s tenures crossed Rs 44 Cr but audit was not completed in the all the expenditure incurred since 2011-12.
After completion of audit in seven Panchayats the then Finance Minister Badal Choudhury had asked the administration to lodge FIR against Bimal and others within a week on May 19 last year. On May 23, 2014,  Badal Choudhury was shifted from finance ministry to health and the file was kept in abeyance till opposition congress exposed it on September 18, 2014.

In the much talked about cabinet reshuffle, finance portfolio was given to Bhanu Lal Saha, elected from Bishalgarh and also accused in the scam.
It may be mentioned here that Bimal Chakraborty belongs to a powerful CPI-M family of the state and close to chief minister 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. Opposition Congress had earlier demanded to shift the trial of Bimal Chakraborty from Bishalgarh Judicial Magistrate Court as Bimal’s sister in-law and Kamal’s wife Susmita is working as PA of the Magistrate.

It may be mentioned here that under tremendous pressure from all corners and wide spread media publication on the Rs. 17 crore MGNREGA scam, BDO Bishalgarh RD Block Subrata Das had lodged the FIR against the then BDO of the block Bimal Chakraborty in Bishalgarh police station. Police had registered a case in this connection (case no. 135/14) under section 409 of IPC. The special audit report of MGNREGA for the financial year 2012-13 and FY 2013-14 had found misappropriation of more than Rs. 17 crores. The internal audit was done during 05/05/2014 to 30/06/2014.

The opposition Congress had earlier demanded CBI enquiry into the multicrore rupee scam but the state government ordered CID enquiry into the case.

The failure of the CID and the police, both of which are under the control of Home Ministry of CM Manik Sarkar whose patronage to scam accused Bimal Chakrabortry was always under scanner gives much suspicion on the nature and integrity of the enquiry of the case.

Only time will say what will happen to scamster blue eyed boy of CM Manik Sarkar but as of now, the future of the much talked about scam which embarassed the state govt. and the chief minister Manik Sarkar especially, has been pushed into cold storage for ultimate oblivion, thinks the analysts here.