The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) and Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Thursday arrested Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Ashok Kumar Patel for his alleged role in the misappropriation of Rs7 crore intended for tendu leaf collectors in Sukma district.
Mithilesh Verma, Deputy Director of Prosecution, confirmed the arrest, stating that Patel, who served as the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Sukma during the time of the irregularities, was produced before Special Court Judge Neeraj Sharma. The court has remanded him to six days of police custody, until April 23.
The case involves large-scale corruption in the disbursement of bonus payments under a government-backed procurement scheme for tendu leaves — a significant forest product collected primarily by tribal forest dwellers in the state.
According to investigators, Patel allegedly withdrew approximately Rs7 crore that was earmarked for bonus payments. The scam took advantage of the fact that many of the intended beneficiaries did not have bank accounts, allowing funds to be illegally diverted.
“Tendu leaves are a vital source of income for tribal communities in Chhattisgarh. The funds were supposed to reach them directly. Instead, the lack of proper disbursement mechanisms was exploited to siphon off public money,” said an official familiar with the case.
Further investigations are underway to identify other individuals who may have been involved in the embezzlement or facilitated the fund diversion.
