When the inmates of a ward in Beur jail in Patna tried to ask lalkeshwar Prasad Singh what crime he committed and why he was in jail, the sexagenarian former chairman of Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) just stared in the air and did not respond. He then unrolled the blanket on the floor in one corner of the ward which is now his abode. About 25 inmates mostly thieves, pickpockets, burglars and petty criminals were surprised to see the new entrant in the prison who was old, indisposed and crestfallen.
They knew little about Singh who is seen as main culprit in the inter exam scandal that produced toppers who did not have basic knowledge of the subjects in which they got distinction marks.
Singh and his wife Usha Sinha, a former JD(U) MlA, who were arrested from Varanasi after remaining elusive for almost a fortnight. Singh, said to be close to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and also a former Principal of Patna College, has been put in Amad Ward of the jail. And his wife, who also served as principal of Ganga Devi Mahila College, is lodged in the Mahila Ward of the same prison.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted to look into the infamous scam is seeking the remand of the couple to interrogate them in presence of other accused. The team has so far arrested 19 people in connection with this scam that brought immense embarrassment to the Bihar Government.
With the inclusion of the sections of Anti Corruption Act, the topper scandal case the matter is expected to be heard in the Special Vigilance Court. The SIT produced all the accused in the vigilance court and all of them have been sent to judicial remand till July 4.
Even as Singh, his face covered with a scarf, repeated no comment to each question from the media, his former legislator wife screamed, “This is a conspiracy to implicate us.”
Usha Sinha is said to be the mastermind of the toppers scam and everything was finalized after payment of hefty amount. She was very dominant and BSEB chairman did not dare to say no to her on any issue.
Former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi made a sensational allegation that before fleeing to Varanasi, the couple took shelter in the official residence of a Minister in Patna. leader of opposition Prem Kumar asked the government to disclose where the couple had been hiding and why police did not arrest them for 13 days.
The SIT headed by Patna SSP Manu Maharaaj arrested the accused couple from Varanasi on Monday from the house of their relative Dilip Jaiswal, a liquor mafia of Western UP. The couple had also stayed in a hotel there for five days under fake identities.