Former UP family welfare minister Babu Singh Kushwaha and BSP MLA from Barhaj Assembly constituency (Deoria) Ram Prasad Jaiswal are accused in a case relating to upgradation of 134 district hospitals for Rs 13.4 crore by Construction and Design Services, an UP Jal Nigam unit, sources said.
During questioning by the CBI on Saturday, Mr Kushwaha is understood to have denied all allegations against him, including any role in the allocation of funds for the upgradation of district hospitals under the scheme. “During questioning he claimed that three committees (one headed by the CM herself and two by the state chief secretary) of the state government took all financial decisions, including allocation of funds to the districts under the scheme,” sources said. Mr Kushwaha claimed all decisions were either taken by the CM’s office or top bureaucrats of the state administration, sources said, adding that he reportedly repeated the same thing even before the court. They are the first politicians to be arrested in the NRHM scam. The CBI, which is expected to register four more FIRs in a day or two, may make more arrests in the case, sources added. Among the 10 people arrested by the CBI as yet are retired director-general (family welfare) S.P. Ram, state PSU (Construction and Design Services, subsidiary of UP Jal Nigam) GM P.K. Jain and retired MD of state PSU Shreetron India Ltd G.K. Batra.
ED officials are examining the FIR filed by the CBI against Mr Kushwaha and others.