Main accused in provident fund scam dies in Ghaziabad jail

GHAZIABAD - Arrested court official Ashutosh Asthana, the key to the multi-crore provident fund (PF) scam in which some judges of the higher judiciary were also named, has died at Dasna district jail in Ghaziabad, police said Sunday.

Asthana, a district court middle-rung officer, who earned notoriety on account of embezzlement of the provident fund of the Ghaziabad district court staff died Saturday.

The names of several senior judicial officers including judges of the Allahabad High Court figured during investigations into the scam and in Asthana’s statement before the trial court in the case. Even the apex court took personal interest in the case to contain the damage caused to the image of the judiciary. The case was transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation.

“At 12.30 p.m. Saturday, Ashutosh Asthana, the then central Nazir of Ghaziabad district courts, was well in the jail. He read the morning newspapers. While reading the newspapers, he told his cell mates that he was feeling uneasy and within a few minutes he fainted,” said superintendant of Dasna jail V.K. Singh.

He was then taken to the jail hospital where doctors found his blood pressure to be low. He was also shivering. He was referred to the district MMG hospital where he died later. His body has been kept for post-mortem. “The cause of death can be ascertained only by the findings of the postmortem,” added Singh.

Asthana had been booked for the around Rs.49 crore provident fund scam. In his statement before the trial court, he had named several judges on whose alleged behest he embezzled the money from the provident fund account of the Ghaziabad court employees.

He was in judicial custody since April 2008. He joined as clerk in the Ghaziabad courts on Feb 9, 1993. He was elevated to the post of central Nazir in February 2008.

Asthana named seven judges on whose verbal instructions he used to withdraw cash from the provident fund accounts illegally.

A part of the money obtained was pocketed by Asthana while the rest was spent on expensive gifts sent by him to the judicial officers concerned.