UP Lokayukta indicts over 199 in Mayawati government memorial scam

Uttar Pradesh Lokayukta Justice NK Mehrotra has indicted over 199 persons, including two former Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) ministers, for allegedly siphoning off Rs. 1,410 crore of public money for the construction of parks and memorials when former chief minister Mayawati was in power.

Justice Mehrotra on Monday submitted an 88-page report on the alleged anomalies in the construction of these memorials to Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Monday.

Those indicted include former BSP ministers Naseemuddin Siddiqui and Babu Singh Kushwaha, two former legislators, Sharda Prasad and Anil Kumar Maurya, sitting MLA Ramesh Chandra Dubey and 199 officials of various departments who supervised work on these projects.

Since his recommendations are not binding on the state government, the Lokayukta has urged Yadav to constitute a special task force or, refer the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for further investigation.

Where main accused Siddiqui is facing several cases of disproportionate assets , Babu Singh Kushwaha, who is already expelled from the BSP, is languishing in jail in connection with a National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) case.

The construction work of these memorials was carried out by Rajkiye Nirman Nigam, a unit of the Public Works Department (PWD) and Lucknow Development Authority, which falls under the housing department, a portfolio held by Mayawati when she was heading the state government.