Patna: An FIR has been lodged in connection with the theft of about 500 files of Bihar's animal husbandry directorate which are supposedly related to the multi-crore fodder scam.
"An unnamed FIR has been lodged for theft of 500 files of the Animal Husbandry Directorate from its office," a police official said on Wednesday.
The FIR has been lodged by Section Officer Satyendra Kumar at a directive of Animal Husbandry Director on May 16 last, he said.
It would be known during the course of investigation as to which files were stolen, he said.
Unearthed in 1996, the scam pertains to syphoning of funds by non-existent companies in the name of supplying fodder. RJD president Lalu Prasad Yadav, at present out on bail granted by the Supreme Court, was convicted in the case in 2014.
Prasad, also an accused in another related case, is the chief of RJD, an ally of the ruling government in the state.
The scam pertains to fraudulent withdrawal of public money worth about Rs 950 crore from the treasuries of undivided Bihar under the head of the animal husbandry department (AHD) in 1990s.
Meanwhile, Animal Husbandry Department (AHD) Minister Awdesh Kumar Singh has denied that the missing files were connected to the fodder scam.
"The missing files are not related to the fodder scam as all the files related to that case have already been handed over to the CBI which is investigating the scam," Singh said.
The minister said the missing files, over 500 in number, pertained to issues like retirement, pension and other departmental matters of employees from 1997 to 2011.
He said the FIR has been registered with the Secretariat police station here and added that a three-member departmental committee has been set up to look into the issue of the missing files. "Based on the report of the committee, stern action would be taken against those found guilty in the missing files case," the minister said.
Singh, who hails from Congress, alleged that rivals were "spreading canards that the missing files are related to fodder scam to draw political mileage."
