Jharkhand Independent MLA Saryu Roy, 70, takes his crusader role seriously. The ‘giantkiller’, whose allegations are said to have brought down two chief ministers, was in the spotlight recently when he released documents alleging that state Health Minister Banna Gupta misused his office and disbursed Covid incentives equivalent to a month’s basic salary to 60 employees, including himself.
The ‘revelations’ led to the Jharkhand Police in turn filing an FIR against “unknown persons” under the Officials Secret Act for allegedly “leaking the documents”.
Formerly a BJP leader, Roy was food minister in the Raghubar Das Cabinet – a turbulent stint that saw Roy criticising the government over a number of its decisions, including the allocation of mining leases.
Ahead of the December 2019 elections, Roy quit the BJP after being denied a ticket. He contested as an Independent against Das from Jamshedpur East and pulled off a stunning upset, defeating the incumbent CM by over 15,700 votes.
While in the BJP and even after he quit, he levelled a string of corruption allegations against Das. One of these is over the award of a consultancy contract for a sewage project in Ranchi to a company called ‘Meinhardt’. Roy also alleged corruption in the distribution of ‘toffees and caps and T-shirts’ during a ceremony in 2016 to mark Jharkhand Divas.
In both the cases, Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who also holds the Vigilance portfolio, gave the go-ahead to the…
