The Central Bureau of Investigation () on Friday announced that it had arrested Satyendra Kumar, a proclaimed offender in a fodder scam case who had been on the run for the past 25 years.
In a press release, the CBI said, “After filing of the charge sheet in the case in the year 2001, the accused Satyendra Kumar absconded, and CBI was on his lookout for over 25 years. As he failed to appear before the court to face trial, a permanent warrant of arrest was issued against him by the Court.”
He was apprehended around midnight on Thursday while travelling on a train from Madhya Pradesh’s Guna to Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh. The agency added, “Based on sustained physical and technical surveillance, coupled with human intelligence, the accused person’s location was traced to Nepal.” It continued, “Acting on specific intelligence inputs, a dedicated CBI team was formed for arresting the accused on his way from Guna to Lucknow. The team was deployed at Lucknow Railway Station before the arrival of the train carrying the accused. At around midnight, the accused was apprehended by the CBI team and subsequently arrested.”
According to the , the accused is being brought to Ranchi, Jharkhand, on transit remand to be produced before the competent court.
According to a report in Prabhat Khabar, a Hindi-language newspaper, Kumar is accused of fraudulently withdrawing money from the government treasury during the fodder scam. He reportedly supplied medicines to the Animal Husbandry Department on a large scale along with his associate, Dinesh Rai.
Satyendra’s family lived near the court complex in Ranchi. He and Dinesh Rai studied BPharm at BIT Mesra in Ranchi before setting up a pharmaceutical manufacturing company. According to the investigation cited in the report, they allegedly used the firm to siphon off funds by showing medicine supplies worth more than ₹10 crore.
After Kumar absconded in 2001, the CBI received information that he had started a pharmaceutical company in Nepal, where he was believed to be living. The search for Kumar began again after the court issued a permanent non-bailable warrant against him.
The Bihar fodder scam centred on the siphoning off of government money from the Animal Husbandry Department of undivided Bihar during the 1990s. Roughly ₹950 crore was allegedly withdrawn between 1992 and 1995 using fake bills for animal feed, medicines and equipment, leading to 55 cases. Investigations into the matter revealed the involvement of politicians, officials, suppliers and middlemen. Former Bihar Chief Minister has been convicted in five related cases.
(with PTI inputs)
