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The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) and Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Thursday arrested an Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer in connection with a large-scale misappropriation of tendu leaves bonus funds in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district, officials said.
Deputy Director of Prosecution Mithilesh Verma confirmed the arrest, identifying the officer as Ashok Kumar Patel, who was the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Sukma at the time of the alleged irregularities. According to Verma, Patel was produced before Special Court Judge (Prevention of Corruption Act) Neeraj Sharma, who remanded the officer to six days of police custody till April 23. The accused officer is alleged to have withdrawn approximately Rs 7 crore, which was intended as bonus payments for tendu leaf collectors. Verma explained that the misappropriation occurred because the funds were not credited to the intended beneficiaries, who did not have bank accounts, allowing the money to be diverted. Tendu leaves are a major forest product in Chhattisgarh and are often collected by tribal forest dwellers under state-run procurement schemes. (ANI)
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