The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : House panel directs CID to re-investigate DPEP scam

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Friday, Dec 07, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

House panel directs CID to re-investigate DPEP scam

Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD: The House Committee on irregularities in the District Primary Education Programme (DPEP) funds under the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan has directed the CID officials to re-investigate the case involving misappropriation of over Rs. 14 crore allegedly by Sarasa Devi and others.

The panel headed by Nadendla Manohar (Congress) summoned the CID officials to the meeting on Thursday. The meeting was attended by MLAs P. Janardhan Reddy, S. Ramalinga Reddy, Additional DG (CID) Shiva Narayana, IGP Krishna Raju and others.

The members reportedly faulted the CID officials for interrogating Sarasa Devi and a DPEP official Subramanyam alone. They asked why other senior officials were not interrogated in the wake of the scandal, where money was easily withdrawn from fictitious bank accounts.

Sources said officials were ill at ease answering the questions. Officials informed the members that the bank accounts were opened when Manohar Prasad was the State Project Director of DPEP. Members were particularly irked when CID officials said till date Rs. 14 crore had been fraudulently withdrawn from two bank accounts.

Members were said to have furnished details of two more bank accounts from which Rs. 1.43 crore was allegedly withdrawn. The CID officials said that payments were made to 10 different firms, which turned out to be the ‘benami’ firms of Sarasa Devi, from the Vijaya Bank branch in Marredpally. They also questioned why the forged documents were not sent for forensic tests.

Similarly, there were seven other such agencies, to which payments were made by the Indian Bank branch in Osmangunj. These seven agencies were also owned by Sarasa Devi, the officials pointed out.

The members demanded that all the bank accounts of the DPEP should be investigated so as to bring out more transactions. Sources said that the CID officials promised to submit a detailed report soon after conducting fresh investigation into the scandal.

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