Nine more held in Bihar toilet scam case

Nine more persons were arrested in Bihar on Wednesday on charges of misappropriating government funds meant for the construction of toilets.

Patna: Nine more persons were arrested in Bihar on Wednesday on charges of misappropriating government funds of over Rs 13.50 crore meant for the construction of toilets in the state capital, an official said.

Patna Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Manu Maharaj told the media here that the nine were arrested by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Bihar Police, taking the number of arrests in the scam to 19. 

Cases were earlier filed against two Bihar government officials and four non-governmental organisations in the case.

The scam perpetrated under "Lohiya Swachh Bihar Abhiyan" during 2012-13, 2013-14, and 2014-15 was detected by district officials. 

It was found that money meant for beneficiaries was routed through four NGOs, instead of making it available directly and also that there was no record that it finally reached the real beneficiaries.

Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal has been blaming Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for the toilet scam.