The Central Bureau of Investigation on Monday filed a new case in connection with the alleged irregularities in the Rs 1,600-crore Gomti riverfront project in Uttar Pradesh, which was launched by the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party government in 2015, PTI reported.
The investigation agency is conducting an inquiry into the alleged diversion of funds and pooling of tenders for the project, according to India Today.
The CBI raided 42 locations in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and West Bengal after filing the case, unidentified officials told the news agency.
As many as 189 people, including government officials and engineers who had been associated with the project, were named in CBI’s first information report, according to PTI.
The CBI also named a French company called Aquatique Show in the FIR, according to NDTV. The investigation agency alleged that Uttar Pradesh government officials had signed an agreement with the company for a musical fountain show at the river without due permission. The agreement was worth 55.95 lakh Euros.
This is the second case filed by the CBI in connection with the project, according to the Hindustan Times.
In 2017, the Adityanath-led Bharatiya Janata Party government had formed a committee to conduct an inquiry into the alleged irregularities in the project. The committee found out that only 60% of the work had been completed but the expenditure had reached Rs 1,435 crore, which is 95% of the cost of the project, according to the newspaper.
In June that year, the UP Police filed a case based on the committee’s findings, according to PTI. The state sought a CBI inquiry into the scam in July 2017. Based on this request, the Centre transferred the case to CBI in November.
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