CBI court sentences senior DRDA officer, clerk to five years in SGRY scam case

New Delhi, Dec 21
A CBI court in Lucknow has sentenced three accused, including a senior government official, to five years of rigorous imprisonment in a corruption case related to the Sampurna Grameen Rozgar Yojna (SGRY), involving a loss of over Rs one crore to the government exchequer, officials said on Sunday.

The convicts included Satyendra Singh Gangwar, the then Chief Finance and Accounts Officer of the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA), Ballia; Ashok Kumar Upadhyay, then Junior Accounts Clerk at DRDA Ballia; and Raghunath Yadav, a private individual.

The court also imposed a cumulative fine of Rs 77,000 on the three convicts.

The verdict was delivered on December 20, following a detailed trial that examined large-scale financial irregularities in the implementation of the rural employment scheme meant to benefit the poor.

According to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the case was originally registered in 2006 at Garwar police station in Ballia district, Uttar Pradesh, against as many as 135 accused persons.

The CBI later took over the investigation in October 2008.

The accused were alleged to have misappropriated funds under the SGRY scheme by cheating, committing forgery, using forged documents as genuine, and deliberately causing the disappearance of crucial records.

Investigators found that the fraudulent activities resulted in a wrongful loss of Rs 75.12 lakh in cash and foodgrains worth approximately Rs 31.10 lakh, collectively exceeding Rs one crore.

The accused allegedly diverted these funds for personal gain, defeating the purpose of a scheme designed to provide wage employment and food security to rural households.

After completing the investigation, the CBI filed a charge sheet in June 2010 against the three accused.

Following years of trial proceedings, the court held them guilty and awarded the sentence, underlining the seriousness of corruption in welfare schemes.

The conviction is seen as a significant step in holding officials accountable for financial misconduct in public welfare programmes and sends a strong message against the misuse of funds meant for the rural poor.