After 17 years ofwait and legal entanglements, efforts of Amit Khare,
the then district commissioner of Chibasa in south Bihar whose raid on
the animal husbandry department unearthed the Rs 950 crore fodder scam,
bore fruit on Monday when Lalu Prasad Yadav and others were convicted.
Recounting the raid he conducted on January 27, 1996, Khare, who is now
a joint secretary in the union ministry of human resource development,
says, “We never thought it would turn out to be such a big thing. But
any upright and honest officer would have done the same.”
The 1985-batch IAS officer smelt a rat when he was investigating inputs
from the state finance ministry about irregularities in use of funds at
the district animal husbandry department. His office learnt that the
district animal husbandry department had withdrawn Rs 10 crore and Rs 9
crore twice without giving any details, which was abnormal.
Even after repeated communication, nobody from the the animal husbandry
department responded, which forced Khare to conduct the raid.
“Everybody, including the district animal husbandry officer, had fled
from the office. Bogus bills were scattered all around and none of the
bills was of more than Rs 10 lakh. I immediately sealed the office and
the rest is history,” said Khare
Immediately after the raid, Khare informed the state finance
commissioner, after which raids were conducted in other districts and
the scam was unearthed.
Khare was later transferred to revive the then defunct Bihar State
Labour Corporation. Due to the parliamentary elections in 1996 and his
transfer, Khare did not face any political pressure within the state.
Later, Khare also served as director (primary education) of government
of Bihar; state HRD secretary in Jharkhand; and also as in-charge
vice-chancellor of Ranchi University.
Khare, who was born in Nagpur, completed his schooling in Ranchi and
did graduation in physics (hons) from St Stephen’s College. He completed
his PG in management from IIM Ahmedabad.
“There are many honest officers working in the system and I am sure they are doing great work,” 52-year-old Khare adds.
He is presently holding the charge of joint secretary, International
Cooperation, Book Publishing and Copyrights and Education Policy and
Planning in the Development of Higher Education in the union HRD
ministry. His responsibilities include bilateral as also multi-lateral
dialogues and negotiations as also interacting with UNESCO and WIPO.
Cricket, India, Sports
This is the ninth time in recent matches that Indian bowlers have conceded in excess of 350 runs but Dhoni seemed livid about how they bowled with the new ball.
"More than the death bowling, our bowling with the new ball was not upto the mark. Shami bowled really well as he hit the right areas but rest of the bowlers didn`t. I think we need some more pace," a worried skipper said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
Dhoni was the first to admit that on the New Wanderers wicket, the bowlers shouldn`t have conceded in excess of 350.
"Bowling department let us down. If you give away more than 350 runs, batsmen will be under pressure. On wickets like these, we will find it difficult to score freely," the skipper said when asked about the batsmen`s failure to cope with the pace and bounce of the wicket.
Dhoni sustained a thumb injury while batting which required medical assistance but the skipper assured that he is "fine and ready for the next game".
Questioned on the lack of preparation for this kind of surface coming from the sib-continental featherbeds, Dhoni defended the decision to arrive late.
"We knew we had two to three days but we could have adapted slightly better."
Winning captain AB de Villiers said that it was "important to be confident" on the field. "After the game, we will have a drink and will be friends but in the field, we won`t back down especially in our own conditions. Lots of credit should go to Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock. Especially de Kock, who at such a young age scored that big hundred as we all batted around him," the skipper said.
The South African captain was all praise for Dale Steyn who terrorized the Indian batsmen with pace and swing getting three for 25 from just 8 overs.
"He`s (Steyn) a bit of a freak with new ball. Congrats to Dale for the splendid performance."
On his own innings, De Villiers said, "This innings gave me pleasure but it is JP, who made it look easier in the end. We knew that wickets in hand with the kind of bowling attack they have, we can put them under pressure in the end".
De Villiers also expressed caution that Indians being the No 1 ODI team in the world will certainly "bounce back" but they have a "sniff" as they eye a series win in Durban.
Man of the match de Kock said, "I am very proud as well as happy for what I have done today. I hope to carry on with the good work. Getting a man of the match award is a special thing but I am happy and thanks to teammates. Hope to get a couple of more in next two games".
Crime, India
Akshay Thakur, Vinay Sharma, Mukesh
Singh, Pawan Gupta (L to R) arrive for an appearance at the Delhi High
Court on Sept 24. (AFP)
The court said hearings would start from tomorrow "on a day-to-day basis". It also rejected the plea of the convicts' lawyers for a week's time.
On September 13, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Thakur, Pawan Gupta and Mukesh Singh were sentenced to death by hanging at a fast-track court, for a crime that the judge said had shocked the collective conscience of society. Their lawyers have said they will challenge the verdicts.
During the hearing, advocate V K Anand, representing convict Mukesh, told the court that he will file an appeal within the stipulated time (30 days) given by the trial court. He said the court should hear the reference along with the appeal of the convicts.
Advocate Vivek Sharma, appearing for Pawan, also made a similar request to the bench, saying the court should hear the matter at least after one week. The bench, however, declined their requests.
One of the six men arrested in connection with the attack committed suicide in prison in March; another was a teenager who has been sentenced by a juvenile court to three years in a reform centre.
The trial court has to refer every death penalty case to the High Court for confirmation.
