Probe in Yadav Singh matter indicates complex layers of graft

Suspended chief engineer of Noida Yadav Singh was allegedly running a well-oiled machinery of bribery with fixed percentage of illegal gratification percolating down to a chain of officials in the authority.
It has come to light during investigation by various agencies including Income Tax department and CBI that bribes were not limited to Singh alone but transferred to other officials of the department in a scrupulous manner for which detailed records were maintained, sources said.
The sources involved in the investigation caught hold of a diary which indicated that about five to 10 per cent of the total contract value was allegedly taken from contractors which was distributed among officers under Singh with the officers at the lowest level getting 0.05-0.10 per cent (five paise to 10 paise per Rs 100 of bribe) of the booty in which bribe amount remains about Rs 50 lakh or above.

According to the investigators, there were allegedly eight layers of officers of varying seniority with Singh being on the top among which the bribe money was allegedly getting distributed.
The agencies are also going through messages and communications exchanged from a phone, believed to be of Singh, through which he had recommended names of several contractors and builders to be included in the "eligibility list" of Noida.
The sources said that CBI is looking into the ownership details of two companies-- Mccon Infra Pvt Limited and Meenu Creations-- allegedly linked with associates and relatives of Singh. Several Kolkata-based companies and real estate developers are also under the scanner.

They said the agency will also look into the changes in the share-holding patterns of the companies linked with Singh in an attempt to understand the alleged political clout he enjoyed during his stint in Noida.