An Anti Corruption court has framed charges against Rajasthan UDH minister Jhabar Singh Kharra and six others an 18 year-old graft case. The case is related corruption of ₹14.14 lakh in purchase of water pipes in Srimadhopur panchayat when Khara was village pradhan. The court has approved prosecution of
Jhabar Singh Kharra, then development officer Ummed Singh Rao, then JEN Krishna Kumar Gupta, accountant Nehru Lal and owner of Vadhala Construction Bhairuram.
The court has imposed charges of corruption against all these. The charges include allotting tender to Bhairuram without following procedure and the releasing extra payment.
Now UDH minister will face trial in the corruption case and if found guilty can be convicted and sentenced to jail.
What is the case of Jhabar Singh Kharra?
Jhabar Singh Kharra and others have been accused of granting tender of supplying water pipes to Bhairuram, owner of Vadhala Construction without any prior experience.
The ACB judge Brijesh Kumar said that then village pradhan Jhabar Singh Khara along with coaccused Krishna Kumar Gupta and Nehru Lal held a meeting on March 8, 2006 to discuss a proposal of drinking water supply.
Then they bungled up the tender under criminal conspiracy to award it to Bhairuram without fulfilling the requirements.
The committee awarded the tender of supplying PVC pipe to Bhairuram with he being the approved contractor in connivance with all panchayat officials.
Committee released extra payment
The court has found that the committee has released extra payment to Bhairuram, who received ₹27.38 lakh. In the investigation it was found that Bhairuram had purchase the pipe for ₹13.24 lakh but presented extrapolated bill of more than double the amount.
Moreover, the pipes also failed the technical specifications. Against provisions of 6 Kg capacity, Bhairuram supplied pipes with just kg capacity violating the conditions of tender. However, the committee verified the purchase.
What are the charges
The court has framed charges under IPC Section 120 and has imposed sections of forgery and criminal conspiracy. The accused have incurred loss ₹14.14 lakh to the exchequer through forged documents and wrongful verification.
The BuckStopper, run by a group of seasoned journalists, holds the powerful accountable. The buck stops with them, as they cannot shrug off their official responsibilities.
