A Jalpaiguri court on Thursday remanded IAS officer and former Malda DM Godala Kiran Kumar to four-day CID custody.
He was arrested on Wednesday evening for his alleged involvement in Siliguri-Jalpaiguri-Development Authority scam. The `125 crore scam took place allegedly when Kumar was the Chairman of SJDA between 2011 and 2013, CID sources said adding he was arrested after he failed to give satisfactory answers to certain questions during four-hour marathon grilling he was subjected to.
The Bengal cadre officer was currently posted as a Joint Secretary in the State Agriculture Department.
SJDA scam was one of the many issues including `350-crore trident-light scam in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation and the chit fund scam that had put the ruling Trinamool Congress Government on the back foot.
The present case involved financial embezzlement in purchase of four electric furnace that was being constructed in Siliguri, G Ghoshal Deputy SP CID said. Kumar was earlier arrested in 2013 only to be released within 24 hours on bail after State Chief Secretary raised issues of propriety.
He was then arrested by Siliguri Police Commissioner J Jayaraman who was curiously robbed off his post and sent on "compulsory waiting," -- while the erring IAS officer was subsequently posted as the District Magistrate of neighbouring Malda district -- even as the Opposition left raised the issue of Kumar's close connection with senior Trinamool leaders in North Bengal.
A top Government official had then said that Jayaraman should have taken permission from his higher authorities before arresting Kumar an IAS officer. Kumar happened to be the first on-job IAS officer jailed for graft in Bengal.
"Now the Government should apologise before Jayaraman and resend him to Siliguri with proper honour" local Mayor and former Bengal Minister Ashok Bhattacharya said demanding arrest of the Trinamool leaders including some elected representatives who were allegedly involved in the case.