Ranchi, December 28: The annual report tabled by the Auditor General in the Jharkhand state assembly on Thursday uncovered a blanket scam of Rs 18.41 crore by Jharkhand Silk Textile and Handicraft Development Corporation (Jharcraft). According to the report, the manufacturer of tribal artwork mentioned in transport challans of 95 percent vehicles which did not match with the specified in road permits during an investigation.

Stating the details, the AG claimed to have a very comprehensive report about the Jharcraft, and its weaving of blankets for the people. The senior officer said that in their investigation they found material available for the Jharcraft was not conducive for weaving. Uddhav Thackeray Targets Centre Over Rafale Deal Row, 'You do Scams in Purchase of Arms and Ammunition'.

C Neduchelian, the Auditor General, while sharing the minutes said, as reported by The New Indian Express, "Hence, we were forced to conduct a lot of examinations, after which we found that there’s enough room for doubt, as far as the weaving of the blankets is concerned." He added that the former development commissioner had ordered a vigilance inquiry, which is still underway.

According to the report, the stock account of yarn was based only on sale invoices, while Jharcraft could not show any proof of the items and quantities had been delivered. Deputy AG Faizan Ahmed said, "After looking at the records, the claims made by Jharcraft that it distributed blankets worth Rs 18.41 crore appear to be completely fake as no documentary evidence was submitted to prove it."

Adding more, Deputy AG said, "Even while examining the transportation vouchers, not even 5 per cent of the vehicles mentioned in transport challans match with the vehicle number mentioned in road permits." The officer claimed that they found several trucks returned from Panipat with yarns the same day - covering a distance of 4,000 km.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 28, 2018 03:09 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).