Bihar Tender Scam Probe Deepens: Special Vigilance Unit Arrests 3 Officials, Senior IAS Officer Sanjeev Hans Goes Missing

Patna: Bihar police’s Special Vigilance Unit (SVU) has accelerated efforts to trace senior IAS officer Sanjeev Hans after arresting three officers for their alleged involvement in the tender scam on Wednesday.

SVU arrested former joint secretary-level officer of the stat e finance departementl Mumukshu Choudhary, former chief engineer of the building construction department Tarini Das, and executive engineer of the urban development and housing department Umesh Kumar Singh after questioning them in the case.

Another key accused, IAS officer Sanjeev Hans, could not be traced. Sources claimed he was currently out of the state.

Earlier, the Bihar government had suspended two senior IAS officers in connection with a tender scam allegedly masterminded by Rishu Ranjan Sinha, popularly known as Rishu Shree.  SVU has already arrested Rishu Shree, a government contractor. 

Facing accusation of acting as an illegal middleman, Rishu Shree allegedly manipulated state tenders to benefit his firm, "Reliable Infra Services,"  and extended undue luxuries—such as financing multi-lakh foreign trips to Europe and Australia—for high-ranking Bihar IAS officers in exchange for lucrative government contracts.

The suspended officers are 2017-batch IAS officer Yogesh Kumar Sagar and 2014-batch IAS officer Abhilasha Kumari Sharma.  They are facing allegations of money laundering. Earlier, Special Vigilance United had arrested Rishu Shree in connection with a tender fraud and  money laundering case.

After registering an FIR in the alleged tender scam, the SVU launched a thorough probe, finding the roles of several officials and engineers suspicious.

Choudhary is reportedly accused of benefiting companies linked to Rishu Shree and committing irregularities in contracts during his tenure in municipal bodies. Investigating agencies claim that he has been on the radar since previous raids at his premises yielded large sums of cash.

On the other hand, Tarini Das is also among the key accused in the case.  Enforcement Directorate (ED) had unearthed over Rs 11 crore after conducting raids at seven places in Patna, linked to Das. Subsequently, Bihar government  had sacked him after the ED raid, conducted in connection with a money laundering probe against IAS officer Sanjeev Hans.

Umesh Kumar Singh is also accused of allegedly accepting bribes from contractors associated with the Rishu Shree Group and committing irregularities in bill payments. Action against him was initiated after his name surfaced in investigations by the ED and SVU.