📰 Today's Verdict: Four Convicts Sentenced to 3 Years Each in 1997 Bitumen Scam; Three Officials Acquitted
📰 News: A Special Court of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has delivered a significant verdict in the high-profile Bitumen (Tar) Scam case. Adopting a strict stance, Special Judge Yogesh Kumar convicted four of the accused.
The court sentenced transporters Vinay Kumar Sinha, Ashish Maiti, Raj Kumar Rai, and Ranjan Pradhan to three years of rigorous imprisonment each, having found them guilty of corruption and the misappropriation of government property. Additionally, a financial penalty has been imposed on all the convicts.
Meanwhile, due to a lack of evidence, the court honorably acquitted the then-officials S.K. Das, S.M. Aurangzeb, and N.C. Prasad. Two other accused in the case—Md. Ishaq and B.P. Gupta—passed away during the course of the trial.
Special Public Prosecutor Khushboo Jaiswal represented the CBI in court. The prosecution successfully proved the charges based on the testimonies of 35 witnesses and documentary evidence.
📌 What was the case?
This case dates back to 1997 and involves irregularities in the supply of bitumen from the Haldia Depot to Barhi. The investigation revealed that approximately 154 metric tons of bitumen went missing in transit, and the government exchequer suffered financial loss through the use of fraudulent freight bills.
