The Central Bureau of Investigation on Saturday registered a First Information Report against a Bhagalpur-based non-government organisation, Srijan Mahila Vikas Samiti, in connection with the alleged multi-crore Srijan scam. The director of Bank of Baroda’s Saharsa branch, the former director of the bank’s Bhagalpur branch, the former cashier and head assistant of the land acquisition office in Saharsa have also been named in the FIR, reported ANI.

The accused have been booked for criminal conspiracy, cheating, cheating by impersonation, and criminal breach of trust and forgery. The CBI took over the case on Thursday after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar recommended an inquiry by the central agency.

The alleged scam had begun in 2006. Preliminary investigations had found that money meant to acquire land under the Mukhya Mantri Nagar Vikas Yojna was transferred under different names to the accounts of Bhagalpur-based cooperative society Srijan Mahila Vikas Sahyog Samiti Limited. The money was transferred to the Bank of Baroda and Indian Bank, where the government also had accounts. This continued until Srijan’s Founder-Secretary Manorama Devi had died in February.