Booked in corruption case, Katni district collector Jangre shunted to Secretariat

Special Correspondent

NewsBits.in

Bhopal: Just two days after Katni district collector Prakash Jangre was booked in a corruption case by Jabalpur Lokayukta Police, the state government shunted him out and posted him in state secretariat in Bhopal as deputy secretary.

This is twice in eight months that Jangre has lost post of district collector and sent to secretariat. In November last year, he was removed as Datia district collector after the allegation of him slapping a public works department executive engineer was proven in an inquiry.

He was posted as Katni collector in January this year.

This time, Jangre is facing charges of causing losses to state exchequer worth Rs 6.13 crore and favouring liquor contractors. Along with Jangre, the district excise officer RC Trivedi of Katni was also booked in the corruption case.

The order to transfer Jangre was issued by chief secretary Anthony de Sa in the first hours of Friday. The short transfer order said Jangre was being temporarily posted in the secretariat.

FIR has been lodged against the two officials for allegedly causing a loss of Rs 6.13 crore to government exchequer and for unduly favouring liquor contractors during auction of liquor outlets for year 2016-17 in the district.

The district collector and the DEO have been booked under sections of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and also and FIR has been registered under sections 420 (Cheating) and 120(B) – fraud of the Indian Penal Code.

The Lokayukta Police (Jabalpur) has said that the collector was the licensing authority for liquor contacts and he failed to ensure that the contractors deposited the required earnest money and the license fee.