Patna: A lawmaker from Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar’s ruling Janata Dal United (JD-U) party has landed in trouble after the police registered a case of fraud and cheating and being allegedly involved in the illegal appointment of professors and junior scientists. The man in question, Mewalal Chaudhary, represents Tarapur assembly seat in Bihar assembly. He is a first-time lawmaker who got elected on his wife’s seat.
The case was registered on Tuesday evening with the local police station following orders by the Governor of Bihar, Ram Nath Kovind, who also happens to be the Chancellor of the Universities of the State. Police said all the sections imposed on the accused are non-bailable and the charges if proved could get him life imprisonment.
The order for his arrest, issued after the a probe committee, headed by retired judge of the Patna High Court Justice Mehfooz Alam, found the charges true against Chaudhary and recommended for legal action against him. The Governor had ordered the inquiry in June last year after getting reports of illegal appointments on a large-scale in exchange for money.
Chaudhary, who served as the vice-chancellor of Bihar Agricultural University, Bhagalpur, before getting elected as a lawmaker is accused of making 161 illegal appointments in his university by allegedly taking about Rs1.5 to Rs2 million (Dh82,269 to Dh109,693) per candidate. It is alleged the incompetent candidates were selected because of the money and those who performed well in the interviews weren’t considered for the job.
Chaudhary joined politics after his retirement from service and contested the last assembly elections from Tarapur seat in Munger district. Before Chaudhary, his wife, Neeta Chaudhary, had represented the seat.
The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has sought immediate arrest of the accused JD-U lawmaker and his suspension from the party. However, Chaudhary claimed all the charges against him were “politically motivated”.
This is the second major embarrassment for the Bihar government within a fortnight. Earlier this month, the state government cancelled the clerical examination conducted by the Bihar Staff Selection Commission (BSSC) after reports of a question paper leak and formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the matter.
Based on evidence, the SIT has arrested BSSC secretary Parmeshwar Ram and many brokers. Opposition leaders have alleged seven ministers, nine Indian Administration Service officials and 27 lawmakers are involved in the appointment racket and sought a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe.
