Seed scam: Ex-Jharkhand minister's bail plea rejected

A special court today rejected the bail plea of former Jharkhand Agriculture minister Nalin Soren, now in judicial custody in connection with the multi- crore seed scam.

The special Vigilance Court of Abani Ranjan Kumar Sinha rejected the bail petition on the ground that investigation into the scam could be affected.

Soren and several other officials are facing charges of irregularities in the purchase of seeds and agri equipment and the Vigilance Bureau filed an FIR in 2009.

Yesterday the Vigilance Bureau officials had made a commitment in the Jharkhand High Court to complete its investigation into the scam within three months.
 

The officials had told the high court that during the course of investigation, the scam amount rose to over Rs 150 crore.

The high court would hear the matter on September 30.