Wednesday, June 29 2005 16:41 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Patna: Former Patna District Magistrate Gautam Goswami, evading arrest in multi-crore flood relief scam, today (Jun 29, 2005) failed to get reprieve from the Patna High Court, which rejected his petition for anticipatory bail in the case.

Justice Naraian Roy turned down Goswami's bail plea after hearing arguments of his counsels Ganesh Prasad Singh assisted by Tuhin Shanker and vigilance advocate Y V Giri.

The special vigilance court had already rejected Goswami' bail application on June 6 following which he had approached the HC on June 13.

Goswami, time magazine awardee and an accused in the Rs 17 crore flood relief scam, is on the run since the special vigilance court issued non-bailable arrest warrants against him and eight others on May 31.

Goswami's counsel Tuhin Shanker later told sources in Patna that his client would move the Supreme Court for relief.

Goswami's counsels pleaded that their client had maintained total transparency in inviting tenders for flood relief and that no rules were violated.

They said that relief material worth more than Rs 17 crore, the amount alleged to be swindled by the scam accused, was sent through roads and by air to the flood-hit areas and even the then chief secretary K A H Subramaniam had appreciated the efficiency of Goswami, who was nodal officer of relief operation.

Vigilance counsel Y V Giri argued tender documents were 'manipulated' with the connivance of Goswami and receipts for substantial amount of relief material claimed to have been supplied were missing.