BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh Lokayukta has filed an appeal challenging acquittal of state's minister for food and civil supplies Om Prakash Dhruve in a corruption case in 2007.The appeal was filed before the Jabalpur bench of High Court (HC) and it has been allowed, said sources."Dhurve had caused a loss of revenue to the state government for benefiting someone misusing his official position. Court has accepted our plea," said Pankaj Dubey, counsel for Lokayukta.He said the law department had accorded sanction to file an appeal against his acquittal in 2014 itself.Dhurve was booked by Lokayukta under various sections of Prevention of Corruption Act registered by Lokayukta in 2007 and the chargesheet was filed before special court in Bhopal. The minister was accused of misusing his official position.In 2014 the then ADJ Sanjiv Kalgaonkar acquitted him of all the charges on grounds that the probe agency has failed to prove his linkage in the scam.Lokayukta had argued that the minister had caused an undue delay in awarding a contract for transportation of food grains, to benefit one Mukesh Goyal incurring loss to the MP food and civil supplies Corporation to the tune of Rs 8.5 lakhs.Charges against Dhurve includes withholding the files, issuing orders to return the files even after approving the rates of L1 company on fictitious ground among others.According to sources, M P State Civil Supplies Corporation Limited , had in 2003 floated tenders for the transport of food articles across several districts for the year 2004-05.Tenders were to be opened on November 10, 2003.Mohammed Shafiq & Company Ltd had filed bid for three distribution points- Itarsi, Pipariya and Bhanpura of district Hoshangabad and the rates quoted by him were the lowest.Dhurve allegedly got his tender cancelled on various grounds and awarded the work to Goyal at a higher rate.

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