Court registers FIR against Gopal Bhargava

Bhopal, Jan 21: A local court on Monday registered a criminal case against eight persons including three Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officials and Cooperative Minister in connection with hatching a conspiracy to take control of cooperatives. State Congress General Secretary and spokesman Brijmohan Shrivastava, former MLA Shankar Pratap Singh and advocate Narendra Saxena in a jointly orgnaised press conference said that Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Ramesh Chaurasia, going through the facts wound that prima facie adequate evidences were available for to register an FIR against these persons.

A case under sections 166 and 167 of the IPC was registered against Mukesh Verma, Malay Shrivastava, VG Dharmadhikari and Prabhat Parashar, and a case under sections 166, 167 and 120 (B) of the IPC against minister Gopal Bharagava, SK Oswal, PN Singh and PD Mishra. BG Dharmadhikari, Malay Shrivastava and Prabhat Parashar are Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officials, who are posted as Registrar in cooperatives and Societies department. The leaders alleged that over two lakh active members of cooperative societies were fraudulently sacked. On the directives of the minister, the officials claimed that the Board of Directors lacked desired strength and thus a governing body was formed. The trio demanded termination of the minister and reinstating the board of Directors in the chairmanship of Shankar Pratap Singh Bundela. Earlier, Bundela who was Chairman of the State Cooperative Rural Development Bank and was removed, he was making preparations for cornering Cooperative Minister Gopal Bhargava.

Meanwhile, Gopal Bharagava in a statement Bundela was involved in corrupt practices during his tenure and thus Lokayukta has found him guilty. For this crime, he would have to go jail. Detailing abut the allegations, Bharagava stated that in the construction of new building, Bundela did embezzlement of Rs three crore and the Lokayukta found him guilty. Similarly, he was also found guilty in corruption in purchase of computers. “By overlooking rules and regulations of reservations, several appointments were done in the bank,” he added.