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Two arrested in Sivasagar land requisition fraud case

By ANN Service

SIVASAGAR, Sept 18 - CID sleuths from Guwahati arrested a retired SBI officer and a retired State Government employee in connection with the decade-old land requisition fraud in the Sivasagar Deputy Commissioner�s office pertaining to 1997-99 against a case (No. 147/2000) registered at Sivasagar Police Station.

SBI Personal Banking Manager Binanda Goswami and Head Assistant of the Land Requisition Department Usha Dutta were arrested from their respective residences, while a third accused � an Additional Deputy Commissioner � was spared on health grounds.

A total of Rs1,84,94,000 was embezzled from SBI Sivasagar main branch through 22 false accounts during the period under review. The CID submitted its final report at the CJM court here recently.

The total number of arrests in this case has now gone up to seven, with five persons being arrested earlier. Both Goswami and Dutta were, however, granted bail on health grounds.

Meanwhile, the CID team that has been investigating the Rs 300-crore four-laning of NH-37 scam has taken into possession video CDs and other documents relating to the case from the Revenue Circle Office here.

It may be mentioned that the Joutha Sangrami Mancha comprising members of 14 different organisations has been spearheading an agitation in Sivasagar to hand over the case to the CBI, following which the State Government instituted an inquiry by the CI D.

Incidentally, Sivasagar Deputy Commissioner Narayan Konwar first brought to light the alleged anomalies in land compensation allotment and rehabilitation of the affected people on either side of NH-37 in Sivasagar district and instituted an inquiry under a magistrate in May last.

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