LUCKNOW: The vigilance department on Thursday served notices on former BSP ministers Naseemuddin Siddiqui and Babu Singh Kushwaha in connection with the Rs 4,200-crore scam, involving construction of memorials in Lucknow and Noida under Mayawati government. So far, 20 people have been arrested in connection with the scam which has been probed since 2013.
The inquiry was initiated after a Lokayukta probe indicted 199 persons, including Siddiqui, Kushwaha and 12 BSP MLAs. Siddiqui is now with the Congress.
A source in the vigilance department said that besides Siddiqui and Kushwaha, notices have been served on 40 government officers who were in service at that time for recording their statements.
Vigilance officials said that project managers had used red sandstones which were purchased at exorbitant rates. Sandstones used in the construction of parks and memorials were procured from Mirzapur district, but were routed via Rajasthan to make more money, causing huge revenue losses to the state exchequer.
The officials had filed the first chargesheet in the memorial scam in October 2020 in which it had named six government officials.
The enforcement directorate had also registered a case of PMLA in the memorial scam and had attached properties of engineers and contractors in Lucknow.
