GUWAHATI, Oct 19 - The BIEO today arrested the then General Manager (Region) of FCI Lakheswar Saikia and two other former FCI employees in connection with a multi-crore rupee scam in which 111 truckloads of rice worth around Rs 5 crore were pilfered.
Saikia is currently holding the post of Chief General Manager (Freight Marketing) at the Maligaon-based Northeast Frontier Railway.
Two retired FCI officials, the then AGM (Contract) Dhiramba Hazarika and Assistant Grade I (Contract) Tilak Chandra Bhattacharyya, were also arrested for conniving with the senior official and contractors in the scam.
�During the year 2013-14, the contractors brazenly stole 111 truck-loads of rice worth around Rs 5 crore in connivance with FCI officials. The transport contract was awarded in violation of serious financial prudence. Fake bank guarantee worth Rs 1.2 crore were accepted and the contracts were awarded the work hurriedly before verifying the bank guarantee,� BIEO ASP Purabi Mazumdar said.
The GM did not terminate the contract even after the recommendation for termination by Area Manager, Nagaon, when the pilferage came to light.
The trucks were to transport rice from Haiborgaon FCI Godown to Arunachal Pradesh. But the goods were reportedly off-loaded in Sonitpur district in the godown of one Mujibur Rahman who was arrested earlier along with the main contractor Risoo Takka who is the proprietor of RKK Enterprise.
The cases were transferred from CBI and registered at BIEO on the orders of Gauhati High Court.
