Friday, July 1 2005 14:40 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Patna: A day after he surrendered in court in connection with the Rs 17 crore flood-relief scam and was sent to jail, high profile IAS officer Gautam Goswami was remanded to five days vigilance custody even as authorities suspended him.

"Goswami has been suspended after governor Buta Singh gave his nod to the file concerning departmental action against him for his involvement in a criminal case," State Personnel and Administrative Reforms secretary Ravikant told sources today (July 1, 2005).

The suspension was notified late last night (Jun 30, 2005).

Goswami, who remained on the run for a month even though the Vigilance Bureau probing the case declared him wanted, had surrendered before the special court in Patna, which remanded him to judicial custody till July 6.

Meanwhile, Designated Vigilance Judge Jitendra Mohan Sharma granted Vigilance Investigation Bureau's prayer seeking to take Goswami on remand.

The judge, however, allowed the Bureau, investigating the alleged fraud, to take Goswami on remand for only five days instead of seven as prayed for by Vigilance Department.

Goswami has been charged with having committed "fraud, forgery and cheating" in distribution of relief material to flood victims last year.