Chhattisgarh Cong demands CBI probe in bank scam

Congress in Chhattisgarh today demanded a CBI inquiry into an alleged multi-crore cooperative bank scam of 2006 and today met Governor Shekhar Dutt in this regard.

They also demanded to make Chief Minister Raman Singh and his four Cabinet ministers as co-accused in the case.

'A delegation of Congress leaders, led by Union Minister and party's state unit chief Charandas Mahant, submitted a memorandum to Governor today seeking a CBI probe into the Indira Priyadarshini Mahila Nagarik Sahkari bank scam,' party spokesperson Shailesh Nitin Trivedi said.

'We have also demanded to make CM Raman Singh, his four ministers- Brijmohan Agrawal, Amar Agrawal, Ramvichar Netam and Rajesh Munat- co-accused for their alleged involvement in the scam, based on the statements made by the prime accused and then bank manager Umesh Sinha, during his narco-analysis test,' Trivedi said.

The party demanded that the government should recover Rs one crore from each of the 22 defaulters, whom the bank had given loan.

The delegation informed the Governor that the narco-analysis CD of Umesh Sinha which it had disclosed in the past and the one obtained from the police under RTI (right to information) were same.

After this there is no reason for delay in action against the CM and the four ministers, Trivedi claimed.

Expressing ire over police for allegedly not submitting the CD before court, the delegation urged the Governor to assign the case to CBI for further probe.

The Opposition Congress had a couple of months back released a CD and transcripts of a narco-analysis test conducted on then bank's manager Umesh Sinha in which he had purportedly named Chief Minister Raman Singh and four of his ministers as beneficiaries in the seven-year-old scam.

The CD purportedly showed Umesh Sinha making a statement during narco-analysis that Rs 1 crore was given to each top ruling party politicians at the behest of then chairperson of the bank, Rita Tiwari.