CBI Court Patna Convicts Former Executive Engineer, Transporter in Bitumen Scam Case

A special CBI court in Patna has brought closure to a corruption case dating back nearly three decades, convicting a former executive engineer of Bihar’s Road Construction Department and a private transporter for misappropriating government-owned bitumen during road works in the 1990s.

The court sentenced Baikunth Nath Sharma, who served as Executive Engineer at the Road Construction Division in Biharsharif, to one year of rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of ₹35,000. Co-accused Suresh Kumar Gupta, a transporter associated with M/s Tirupati Transport Agency, Kolkata, was awarded three years of rigorous imprisonment and fined ₹1.5 lakh.

The case originated from an FIR registered in 1996 at Banka Town Police Station and was later handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation following a directive from the Patna High Court. The probe revealed that the transporter had lifted bulk bitumen meant for government road projects but delivered significantly less material than recorded in official documents.

CBI’s investigation established that 287.625 metric tonnes of bitumen — valued at ₹14.38 lakh at the time — was misappropriated during transportation. Verification of supply records, transportation receipts and departmental logs confirmed shortages, pointing to collusion between the transporter and officials responsible for receiving and certifying the material.

After a detailed probe, the CBI filed its chargesheet in February 2002 against four individuals. During the prolonged trial, proceedings against two accused were abated following their deaths. The court, however, found sufficient evidence to convict Sharma and Gupta under provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Legal observers say the verdict reinforces the importance of long-term institutional memory and financial scrutiny in public infrastructure projects, where material pilferage and documentation gaps can cause substantial losses to the exchequer. Experts note that cases like this underline why periodic independent reviews and auditing services in india are essential to ensure transparency, accountability and early detection of irregularities in government-funded works.