Tainted IAS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre Pradeep Shukla has been arrested by the central bureau of investigation (CBI) for his alleged role in the national rural health mission (NRHM) scam. Shukla was arrested from Lucknow airport on Thursday morning when he was about to take a flight for Delhi.

Last week, you read on this website first that Shukla's arrest was imminent (Tainted IAS officer’s arrest imminent in NRHM scam).

The agency in its preliminary investigation found Shukla, a 1981 batch IAS topper, to be prima facie guilty of siphoning of funds from the NRHM projects in UP. Shukla would be a crucial link to evolution of the modus operandi through which the funds were salted away, the agency sources said.

Pradeep Shukla emerged as the prime accused in the NRHM scam when the CBI took over the probe after instructions from the Allahabad high court. The NRHM scam came into focus after the sensational murders of two Lucknow-based CMOs in broad daylight by gun-toting criminals. The murders were believed to be a handiwork of those who masterminded the defalcation of the huge money meant to improve public healthcare.

Shukla, considered to be close to Mayawati, had served as the principal secretary, health, and was found to be involved in various acts of indiscretion by the CBI sleuths. Sources in the agency say that the officer was initially reluctant to help the CBI and had tried to throw his weight around. “He ultimately fell in line and faced inquiry,” sources said. As of now, Shukla figures as prime accused in three criminal cases related to the NRHM scam.

With Shukla’s arrest, the CBI is all set to trigger a mild tremor in political and bureaucratic circle of Uttar Pradesh by laying their hands on certain high-profile politicians and bureaucrats who have evaded arrests so far.