The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered two new cases in Uttar Pradesh mining scam naming four IAS officers and former minister in the Samajwadi Party government Gayatri Prajapati as accused and conducted searches at 12 locations across the state.
The searches were conducted at Bulandshahr, Lucknow, Fatehpur, Azamgarh, Allahabad, Noida, Gorakhpur and Deoria.
The CBI FIR has named Prajapati, then Principal Secretary Jiwesh Nandan, Special Secretary Santosh Kumar, then district magistrates Abhay and Vivek.
The Uttar Pradesh government had mandated e-tendering for renewal and award of fresh lease for sand mining in the State on May 31, 2012, which was upheld by the Allahabad High Court on January 29, 2013.
In the case involving Prajapati, the agency has alleged in the FIR that the beneficiaries Shiv Singh and Sukhraj used the influence of the minister to get their lease renewed in violation of the e-tendering norms.
Nanadan and then district magistrate of Fatehpur Abhay allegedly conspired with the minister to get the lease renewed relating to Sukhraj in 2014. Singh managed to get his lease renewed in 2012. The lease of the duo was allegedly renewed in violation of e-tendering policy of the State government, they said.
In the second case, the agency has alleged that Vivek allowed renewal of lease of one Sharda Yadav during his tenure as DM in Deoria.
Yadav, whose petition for renewal of lease was dismissed by the Allahabad High Court on April 5, 2013, managed to get it renewed next day in conspiracy with Vivek and other officials of the district, the CBI has alleged.
The agency teams landed at the 12 locations in the State on Wednesday morning, including at the premises of 2007-batch IAS officer Abhay, presently the District Magistrate of Bulandshahr, and 2009-batch IAS officer Vivek, the Mission Director of Uttar Pradesh Skill Development Mission to conduct searches.
The officials said cash worth Rs 47 lakh was recovered from the premises of Abhay and about Rs 10 lakh was recovered from the residence of Devi Sharan Upadhyay, the then ADM of Deoria. Upadhyay is presently posted as the CDO in Azamgarh, and his premises were also searched.
The agency also seized some documents related to properties from the premises of Vivek who is presently posted as Director, Training & Employment in Lucknow.