Hindustan Times (Lucknow)

Agra exDM under corruption scanner, case registered

Passing on benefits to his kin in the purchase of land for AgraLuckno­w eway

- HT Correspond­ent lkoreporte­rsdesk@hindustant­imes.com

AGRA : A case was registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act (1988) against the former district magistrate of Agra Zuher Bin Sageer for misusing his status as DM and passing on benefits to his relatives in the purchase of land for Agra Lucknow Expressway. The case has been filed by an inspector from the state vigilance department, Bareilly, at Fatehabad police station of Agra.

Saghir was the DMof Agra for a year from February 2013 and now faces corruption charges after a similar case was registered against him in Moradabad on Tuesday.

AGRA: A case was registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act (1988) against the former district magistrate of Agra Zuher Bin Sageer for misusing his status as DM and passing on benefits to his relatives in the purchase of land for Agra Lucknow Expressway.

The case has been filed by an inspector from the state vigilance department, Bareilly, at Fatehabad police station of Agra.

Zuhair Bin Saghir was district magistrate of Agra for a year from February 2013 and now faces corruption charges after a similar case was registered against him in Moradabad on Tuesday.

The station in-charge of Fatehabad police station confirmed registerin­g the case in Agra.

The Bareilly sector of the UP Vigilance Department had inquired into the incident and its report was forwarded to the state government on May 11, 2018.

Orders were passed on July

17, 2018 to get the case registered after investigat­ion.

The FIR reveals that during investigat­ion it was found that the accused Zuhair Bin Saghir, as district magistrate, Agra, had informatio­n about the AgraLuckno­w Expressway project.

Saghir got land purchased for his cousin sister including 0.6915 hectare land in village Tibaha and 0.3460 hecatre land in village Swara of Fatehabad tehsil in Agra district.

The land was purchased at a cost of Rs 8,20,000 but his sister received an amount of Rs 28,65,000 when the land was acquired by the National Highway Authority of India for the Agra-Lucknow Expressway in July 2014.

“Khalida Rehman, the cousin sister, made a profit of Rs 20,45,000 when her land was acquired, as notificati­on for acquisitio­n was issued on 13.10.2013 and publicatio­n was made on 17.10.2013, making a huge profit within a short span of time,” the FIR lodged at Fatehabad police station reads.

The case was registered on Tuesday under section 13(1)(c) and 13(1)(d) and 13 (2) of Corruption Prevention Act 1988 at Fatehabd police station of Agra district on the complaint of Pramod Kumar Sharma, the inspector from UP Vigilance Department at Bareilly.

The accused former DM is also blamed for allowing similar land purchases for his sisters during his tenure as district magistrate at Moradabad in village Saidpur Khaddar in district Moradabad.

The accused former DM is also blamed for allowing similar land purchases for his sisters during his tenure as district magistrate at Moradabado­f a piece of land without obtaining permission from concerned authoritie­s and releasing government-acquired land in Moradabad. Saghir was the District Magistrate of Moradabad in 2016-17.

Other accused in the FIRs are former additional district magistrate of Moradabad Arun Kumar Srivastava (now retired) among others.

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