PRIVATE COMPANY CONTROLS BIHAR GOVERNMENT RECRUITMENT, HIGH RANKED OFFICIALS INVOLVED

PRIVATE COMPANY CONTROLS BIHAR GOVERNMENT RECRUITMENT, HIGH RANKED OFFICIALS INVOLVED

20-SEP-ENG 2

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

DELHI--------------------------According to the Income Tax Department, a private company controls the Bihar government's contract recruitment. This company bribes top state officials and secures recruitment for various departments by accepting money from candidates. Read the first installment of this investigation. It has been more than a year since the Income Tax Department sent a letter to the Chief Secretary of Bihar, but despite such a large raid and such serious allegations, there has been no movement in the state.

Exactly one year ago, in June 2024, Ranjan Kumar, the then Principal Director (Investigation) of the Income Tax Department in Patna, wrote to Brajesh Mehrotra, the then Chief Secretary of the Bihar government, drawing his attention to a major scam.

The Principal Director wrote that two companies, Urmila International Service Private Limited and Urmila Infosolutions, had established a "virtual monopoly" on contract recruitment for various departments of the Bihar government.

According to the Income Tax Department, these companies were also involved in the paper leak scam.

In this letter, spanning over fifty pages, the Income Tax Director listed numerous employees, from the highest-ranking officials of the Bihar government to district-level employees, to whom the company allegedly paid bribes, expensive Diwali gifts, and gold and silver coins to secure contractual positions in various departments. According to the Income Tax Department, these companies charged candidates between 15,000 and 50,000 rupees.

The letter stated that these companies "provide employees for various positions in the offices and departments of the Bihar government," and "collect money from the participants" who received the jobs. The Income Tax Department demanded "strict action" against Kumar Avinash and the company to "end corruption in the contract recruitment process and make it transparent." This series by The Wire Hindi exposes the dark chapter in Bihar, highlighting how government recruitment has deteriorated under Nitish Kumar's rule.

This first installment focuses on the mechanisms behind this scam. Subsequent installments investigate key officials who are beneficiaries of the company's alleged misconduct and who received undue financial benefits from it in land deals.

Two companies are at the center of this scam. According to the Income Tax Director, "Kumar Avinash owns both of them. He holds a 98% stake in Urmila International Services Private Limited."

Indeed, Urmila International is the parent company of Urmila Infosolutions.

The Income Tax Department raided Kumar Avinash's office, home, and other premises on February 8, 2024. Urmila International's office is located in Rajiv Nagar, Patliputra Colony, Patna. Avinash's home is located on Ambedkar Path, near Bailey Road, Patna.

The Income Tax Director's letter includes WhatsApp chats between Kumar Avinash and various individuals. Ranjan Kumar also mentioned a seized diary containing numerous transactions and signed by Kumar Avinash.

Speaking to The Wire Hindi, Kumar Avinash acknowledged that his offices were raided and seizures were made. He said, "It's Income Tax duty; they can raid anywhere. What's the big deal? It's routine Income Tax work."

Although he denied other allegations, The Wire Hindi's investigation reveals that the Income Tax Department's allegations are not baseless.

Bihar State Electronics Development Corporation Limited Beltron (Beltron) is a Bihar government enterprise. According to Beltron's website, it "provides manpower support to various departments of the Bihar government" and "provides data entry operators, programmers, and other skilled manpower for the betterment of the departments."

According to the Income Tax Department, Kumar Avinash's company influenced recruitments conducted through Beltron, thus securing the recruitment of its own candidates in various departments.

Avinash has a number saved in his mobile phone belonging to someone named "Manish New Vineet." According to the department, messages between the two in August 2023 indicate that the company interfered in the recruitment process and was also involved in the paper leak.

For example, at one place, Manish writes, "Just be careful, Sir... I have clearly told you, if the paper leaks, don't come home again..." "Because Sir is out of Patna for the entire next week... someone else will set the questions." Then. Kumar Avinash admitted that Manish worked for his company, but claimed the conversation was related to an 'internal examination' for candidates. However, the Income Tax Department maintains that the matter pertained to government recruitment. The Wire Hindi spoke to an Income Tax Department official involved in the investigation of Urmila International. He said, But Kumar Avinash claims he is not involved in the recruitment process. He said, "We don't recruit at all. Whatever recruitment takes place, the department does it itself. We only manage the payroll."

However, his claim appears weak. In an interview with a media organization, Kumar Avinash himself says, “Our company operates in the entire flexi-manpower business, ranging from highly skilled professionals like doctors and paramedical professionals to low-level workers like sweepers, peons, and housekeepers.”

Secondly, Avinash forgets that payroll management is a crucial function. The company that manages payroll determines the relationship between employees and the organization.

“Payroll defines the relationship between any company and manpower. Employees are provided with allowances based on their position and salary, along with other amenities like travel, accommodation, food, vehicle, and health care. This is called payroll management,” said a senior government official in Patna. Kumar Avinash also admitted in his statement to the department on February 10, 2024, that his company has contracts with Beltron and various departments for manpower supply.

He further stated, “I have a contract with the Bihar State Health Department, which has approximately 3,500 data management units… In addition, I have contracts with various departments in different states, which have different service charges… I also supply manpower to non-governmental organizations.”

He further added that these recruitments take place in two ways: either “previously working” employees are “re-appointed,” or “where we have to supply manpower ourselves, our company screens the candidates, interviews are conducted by the department, and we manage the payroll of the selected candidates.”

The Income Tax Department claims that Kumar Avinash takes bribes ranging from 15,000 rupees to 50,000 rupees from participants in exchange for recruitment.

Kumar Avinash also admitted in his statement to the department on February 10, 2024, that he took money from each participant. This is also confirmed by the statement given to the department by Ashutosh Nandan Singh, the then District Information Officer of Samastipur. According to the Income Tax Department, he confirmed that Kumar Avinash had recruited candidates by paying them.

In a statement given to the Income Tax Department on March 28, 2024, Ashutosh Nandan Singh said, "We wanted to recruit our relatives and close associates through this company. They (Urmila International) charged Rs. 25,000 from the candidates for selection." According to this statement, Nandan Singh recruited six of his candidates in Madhubani and fifteen in Darbhanga in various departments in 2020. The department's documents also record WhatsApp conversations between Ashutosh Nandan Singh and Kumar Avinash. On December 14, 2020, Ashutosh Nandan sent a message to Kumar Avinash saying, “36000×15.” According to the department, this indicates that ₹540,000 was collected for the recruitment of 15 students. A WhatsApp message to Kumar Avinash dated April 25, 2021, states that money was collected from 60 candidates for recruitment. This is confirmed by Ashutosh Nandan Singh's statement to the Income Tax Department, stating that ₹1500,000 was paid to Avinash at the rate of ₹25,000 per candidate. Speaking to The Wire Hindi, Ashutosh Nandan Singh acknowledged Urmila International's interference in the recruitment process but denied any monetary transactions. “I contacted them to help my relatives and acquaintances find jobs. I did not exchange any money with anyone.' 'I spoke to Kumar Avinash about getting me a job because I've known him for many years, when he was an election vendor.'

He added, 'I haven't had any contact with Avinash since this whole episode... He told me to retract whatever statement I made. I told him that I would not retract my statement, and we have not spoken since then. In a statement to the Income Tax Department on February 10, 2024, Kumar Avinash admitted that "Ashutosh Singh runs a computer operator training institute and has been a friend of mine. However, since 2022, I have had a financial dispute with him... We previously had an agreement to recruit trained students from his institute throughout Bihar, under which a placement fee of Rs. 15,000 per candidate was taken in cash."

In a letter to the Chief Secretary, the Income Tax Department stated that "during the investigation, it was also found that Kumar Avinash was involved in illegally benefiting government offices/officials by providing them with gold and silver coins/jewelry. This is confirmed by the details of purchases made by Kumar Avinash in his name, his company's name, and in the names of other individuals.

Speaking to The Wire Hindi, Kumar Avinash admitted that he had purchased these gifts for the officers, but claimed that they refused to accept them. "I worked with them, so I should have put it on record. But no one took them," Avinash said.

The Income Tax Department alleges that the officers accepted expensive gifts for Diwali.

It has been more than a year since the Income Tax Department sent a letter to the Chief Secretary, but this company's influence is so great that despite such a large raid and such serious allegations, it has been impossible to investigate. Despite this, there was no movement in the state. Meanwhile, the company continues to grow. Started with a small amount, its total turnover has now reached ₹650 crore.

The Wire Hindi spoke with Patna-based Income Tax Department officials involved in the case. They stated that their role was only to investigate and that they had submitted all documents to the Bihar government for further action. The government was responsible for the aftermath.

The then Chief Secretary, Brajesh Mehrotra, told The Wire Hindi that he had now retired and that we should contact the current Chief Secretary regarding the case.

We sent a detailed questionnaire to Chief Secretary Amrit Lal Meena, who replied that he had forwarded the questionnaire to the Bihar government's Information and Public Relations Department on July 28th. We contacted the Public Relations Department, who stated that they had no information on the matter.We sent detailed questions to Beltron, but have not yet received a response.