Jharkhand follows the Bihar practice where the withdrawal and disbursal officer of the SSE fund is the Additional DGP, Special Branch and the Chief Secretary conducts an administrative audit and furnishes a utilization certificate to the AG.

Chief Secretary Basu did not conduct an administrative audit nor furnish the utilization certificate. Plus DGP Ram withdrew Rs 5.60 crore in cash from the Secretariat branch of the SBI on March 16, 2006 — a fortnight before Ram gave ADGP G S Rath the withdrawal and disbursal power on April 1, 2006 though Rath had been on the post since August 21, 2005.

Given this backdrop, Malakar drew the attention of the state government, stating that in accordance with the BFRs “a sufficiently real administrative audit” of secret service funds should have been done and a certificate furnished to the AG.

“This was not done. In view of the huge amounts involved and the inordinate delay in submission of the requisite documents, the possibility of fraud, embezzlement and misappropriation of government funds cannot be ruled out. In view of the seriousness of the matter, it is requested that immediate action may be taken to investigate the matter and ensure that the rules governing the accounting of the secret service funds are followed scrupulously,” Malakar wrote to Basu on June 17.

When contacted, DGP Ram, a recipient of the President’s police medal for meritorious service and another for distinguished service, said the utilization certificate was not furnished because the state government had not nominated any controlling officer. “The state government has been requested to do the needful to ensure compliance of the administrative audit provision,” he said.