PATNA, June 15 -- How a young, smart but little-known small town man developed unbridled access to the corridors of power through some bigwigs in the bureaucracy to amass wealth and clout is the substratum of the investigation launched by Bihar's investigating agency, the Special Vigilance Unit (SVU). The agency is trying to unravel the meteoric rise of once ordinary, Rishu Shree -- a young man who ran a racket of securing government contracts in connivance with government officers. Rishu Ranjan Sinha alias Rishu Shree (38), a native of Saran district, is now absconding following an FIR registered against him by the SVU. Rishu Shree has been booked by the SUV in a money laundering case. The case against him has been made on the basis of a report of joint director of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is probing the corruption case involving senior IAS officer Sanjiv Hans and others. The ED's report signalled at manipulation of government tenders in various departments favouring employees/officers of the concerned department and getting crucial information for various tenders in advance. The FIR against Rishu Shree also named suspended IAS officer Sanjeev Hans, Santosh Kumar, Pawan Kumar, unknown government officials of Bihar government and unknown people. What the ED found in its investigation was startling -- Rishu Shree enjoyed the role of a conduit for contracts worth thousands of crores in some of the key government departments and was the go-to man for anyone looking for any kind of favour. Contractors, touts, and even those seeking plum postings saw in Rishu Shree a magic wand that would pave their way through who's who of the bureaucracy, said an investigating official. The man, whose easy access to top bureaucracy was eyesore to many and generated suspicion, is suspected to have amassed crores of rupees through financial management of wealth of IAS officers across the country and even in offshore havens. This, according to investigators, has been substantiated by Rishu Shree' frequent international visits to countries like Turkey, Switzerland, France, Dubai, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, Bhutan, Thailand, Zeddah, Sharjah etc. in the last five years. An SUV official, who is part of the probing team, said that Shree lured bureaucrats with promise of sound investments in domestic as well as international ventures and would do so on their behalf. He added that some of those who invested also lost money. "The ED investigations revealed a sharp grip of Rishu Shree in the bureaucracy. It was so that no major file involving big contracts could move without his consent in some of the departments. He seemed to have an overriding influence without being a bureaucrat, politician or a businessman. He could bring any matter to the table of babus and ensure that things are done," an official said. According to the ED, Shree purchased 61 properties worth Rs.58-crore, or even more, only within last 7-8 years. "He started off his journey as a scrap contractor and got into some government boards, organisations and departments and soon rose to get involved with big contracts due to growing clout. In 2021, he got appointed as consultant with the smart city project and soon he became the man both contractors and officials looked up to in the urban development, housing, water resources and health sectors to get any deal finalised. As his influence grew, he also floated shell companies, which allegedly had investment of many IAS officers," the official said. Shree used his company Reliable Infra Services private limited for his dealings. In its complaint, the ED mentions that Shree manipulated the government tenders by incorporating various specifications which were favourable to his entities. He charged 8-10% of contract value as commission in lieu of assured award and substantial part of it in turn was allegedly shared with senior bureaucrats of the concerned departments. To make the whole process appear fair and transparent, Shree engaged his entities as sub-contractor and raised inflated bills to camouflage speed money by channelising it through routine business transactions. His lavish lifestyle -- which recovery of premium vehicles like Porsche Machan, BMW, Discovery Sport 2.0, Toyota Land Cruiser, BMW R Nine T Scrambler etc. vouch for -- showed how much money he minted out of his nexus with officials. The ED had on March 27 conducted raids at seven locations in Patna, unearthing Rs.11.64 crore in cash and some purportedly damning documents. The raids brought to the fore the "shady dealings" of officials like Mumukshu Chaudhary, joint secretary in the state finance department; Umesh Kumar Singh, executive engineer in the urban development and housing department; Ayaz Ahmed, deputy project director at the Bihar Urban Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (BUIDCO); Sagar Jaiswal, deputy general manager (projects) at the Bihar Medical Services and Infrastructure Corporation Ltd (BMSICL); Vikash Jha, deputy general manager at BMSICL; and Saket Kumar, executive engineer in the construction department. These officials are accused of accepting bribes to secure favourable outcomes for tenders and expedite bill clearances, including those for Rishu Shree....