Siliguri, Dec 1 (IANS) A West Bengal court Sunday granted bail to IAS officer Godala Kiran Kumar, who was arrested Saturday for allegedly siphoning off funds from the Siliguri-Jalpaiguri Development Authority (SJDA) while serving as its CEO.

The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, who was remanded in police custody Saturday for four days by a court after his arrest, was granted bail by the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate H.M. Rahman.
The court granted conditional bail after the prosecution chose not to oppose his plea.
During his tenure as the CEO of the SJDA from September 2011 to March 2013, Kiran Kumar allegedly siphoned off Rs.80 crore and is a prime accused in the scam involving Rs.200 crore.
Following the arrest of Kiran Kumar, who was earlier posted as the Malda district magistrate, the Mamata Banerjee government Saturday removed Siliguri Commissioner of Police K. Jayaraman for arresting Kiran Kumar without seeking prior permission from the government or even informing it.

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