Monday, May 30 2005 09:28 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Patna: The Bihar vigilance investigation bureau, probing multi-crore flood relief scam, yesterday (May 29, 2005) sought public help to arrest former District Magistrate of Patna, Guatam Goswami and alleged kingpin of the scam Santosh Jha.

"We will suitably reward the person providing information about whereabouts of Goswami and Jha. The name of the informer will also be kept secret," Additional Director General of Police (Vigilance) Neelmani told sources.

He said the amount of the reward was not yet decided.

The vigilance ADG said that the public help was sought as whereabouts of the two accused was not known.

Neelmani clarified that Goswami and Jha had not been declared 'absconders', but "we are seeking public help to conveniently trace them".

Without waiting for the Government's approval, Goswami had resigned from IAS service in early February to join Sahara India at Lucknow.

State vigilance had on Saturday (May 28, 2005) registered an FIR against Goswami and 25 others, including an ADM-rank official and a bank manager, in the multi-crore flood-relief scam last year.

Five of the accused - IDBI bank manager (Patna branch) Sanjay Kumar Jha, employee Shailendra Kumar, Bihar Small Scale Industries Corporation's then Managing Director Mukteshwar Prasad, employee Amlendu Choudhury and the then Additional District Magistrate (Patna) Basudeo Prasad - were arrested by the vigilance sleuths during raids on their premises in Patna on Saturday.

The vigilance sleuths also visited Jha's house but neither he (Jha) nor his family members were available.