Lodge DA case against bitumen convict Illiyas Hussain: Modi

A day after former Bihar Road Construction Minister Illiyas Hussain was sentenced for four years of rigorous imprisonment in bitumen scam, Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi Friday demanded institution of disproportionate assets case against the RJD MLA for allegedly amassing assets beyond his known sources of income.

"Normally, a disproportionate assets (DA) case is lodged against the accused in such cases but DA was not lodged against Illiyas Hussain in the case...I would appeal CBI to lodge a DA case against Hussain. I would make a formal request to the CBI in my individual capacity as I was one of the petitioners in PIL filed in Patna High Court seeking CBI probe into the bitumen scam case," Modi told reporters here.

Notably, a special CBI court had on Thursday convicted and sentenced him to rigorous imprisonment for four years. Hussain's then private secretary Mohd Sahabuddin Beig to four years of rigorous imprisonment in the case.

The court slapped a fine of Rs four lakh on the duo.

While a transporter Janardan Prasad Agarwal was sentenced to four years of rigorous imprisonment with a fine of Rs six lakh.

The case related to the embezzlement of around Rs 18.75 lakh through misappropriation of 375 metric tonnes of bitumen.

Modi- who was among the first leaders to raise the bitumen scam and approached the Patna high court for CBI probe- described in details about the modus operandi of the accused persons in bitumen scam.

Citing the figures as how and why Bihar roads earned bad name due to potholes, Modi said that 44,650 MT bitumen were purchased for constructing 84 km of new roads in 1990-91 in the state apart from road widening work of 138 km and repairing work for 2000 km.

RJD was in power in Bihar continously from 1990 to 2005.

But the quantum of bitumen rose to more than double at 94,000 MT in the year 1995-96 whereas only 6 km new roads were constructed while road widening work was nil and repairing work was carried out for 1300 km of roads in the state.

Though he demanded expulsion of Hussain from RJD,Dy CM said that he does not expect RJD chief, who is himself a convicted man in many fodder scam cases, would expel Hussain from the party. Hussain, who is considered as very close to Prasad, has now also landed in Ranchi jail, he added.

There is a long list of RJD leaders who are in jail such as Md Shahabuddin, Raj Ballabh Yadav etc., Modi said while asserting that many more in Prasad's family too would land in jail in various other corruption cases.

More than three dozens of properties belonging to Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, Rabri Devi, Misa Bharti have already been seized by the agencies, Modi, the finance minister, said and added that Tejashwi and Rabri Devi have been charge sheeted in a corruption case.

Asked whether he (Modi) thinks that both Tejashwi and Rabri would go to jail, Modi replied in affirmative saying that there are plenty of strong evidences against them which are sufficient to prove their conviction and sentencing which could be both jail and fine or fine alone.