In the annals of corruption-laden political history in Bihar, the infamous Bitumen (कोलतार) Scam of the 1990s holds a special place — not just for the scale of the financial fraud, but also for the theatre of absurd that surrounded it. The central figure in this scam was Ilyas Hussain, Bihar’s then Minister for Road Construction, and a close confidant of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav.
This story dates back to 1994-95, when the state of Bihar (then undivided, including present-day Jharkhand) sanctioned road construction projects in regions like Chatra. These projects required bitumen, a petroleum-based material essential for road surfacing. The bitumen was to be procured from Haldia Refinery in Kolkata, but instead of reaching the project sites, tons of bitumen vanished, siphoned off in a scam orchestrated by the very people responsible for the roads.
Mritunjay Sharma, in his book The Broken Promises, outlines how roads were rarely built during Hussain’s tenure, yet bitumen usage showed high on paper. The implication was obvious — bitumen was being diverted or sold off, and the profits pocketed by a nexus of bureaucrats, engineers, and politicians, with Ilyas Hussain at the center.
The Bag Full of Money — and the Boss Who Knew Everything
One of the most telling — and ironically humorous — anecdotes from this era involves a bag full of cash and a surprise airport encounter.
As per accounts, Ilyas Hussain or the Bihar Minister was in the habit of travelling frequently to Delhi, allegedly to collect cash from companies involved in the bitumen contracts. Back then, airport security and scrutiny were lax for ministers, and Hussain often returned to Patna with bags full of unaccounted cash.
On one such occasion, just as he landed at Patna Airport, he ran into none other than Lalu Prasad Yadav, who was headed to Delhi. Seeing Ilyas with a fancy bag, Lalu couldn’t help but tease his minister.
“ए हो इलियास, बड़ा सुंदर बैग लिए हो!”
(“Hey Ilyas, that’s a nice bag you’ve got!”)
A nervous Ilyas replied that he had bought it at Delhi’s Palika Bazaar for Rs 2,000. Lalu, already aware of the true contents of the bag, smirked and played along.
“इलियास भाई को 3,000 रुपया दीजिए — 2,000 बैग का और 1,000 दिल्ली से यहां तक लाने का।”
(“Give Ilyas Bhai 3,000 rupees — 2,000 for the bag and 1,000 for bringing it all the way from Delhi.”)
He then instructed his aide to send the bag to his own residence, jokingly saying that Ilyas could collect it later.
Everyone laughed. Ilyas too laughed — albeit sheepishly, for he had no choice. In that single moment, the power dynamics within the Lalu Yadav-led administration across Bihar were exposed: loyalty was expected, and silent compliance was mandatory.
The Scam That Finally Caught Up
While the anecdote might have been passed off as political banter, the consequences of the scam were real. The bitumen that was paid for never reached Bihar. It was either sold in the open market or completely vanished in bureaucratic black holes.
Eventually, in November 1999, Ilyas Hussain was arrested by the CBI, after investigations revealed his deep involvement in the scam. The case dragged on for 22 years, but in 2019, a special CBI court found him guilty. He was sentenced to 4 years in prison and fined Rs 2 lakh.
The slow pace of justice is reflective of the systemic malaise in India’s legal and political frameworks. Despite such high-profile corruption cases, accountability often arrives too late, and by then, the political damage is either controlled or forgotten.
A Symbol of an Era
Ilyas Hussain, once jokingly called “Kuber Mantri” (Minister of Wealth), represents a wider rot that gripped Bihar in the 1990s. It was an era when governance took a back seat, and scams were normalized. Roads existed more in files than on ground, and yet the budgets were always exhausted.
The bitumen scam, with all its absurdity, remains a chilling reminder of how far political patronage and corruption can go — where even a bag full of scam money could casually end up at the Chief Minister’s house, and the whole incident be laughed off.
Conclusion
The “Bihar Files Part 2” isn’t just a tale of missing roads and black tar; it’s about the black stain on Bihar’s governance, where ministers functioned with impunity under the shield of political proximity. Ilyas Hussain’s story, while amusing in parts, underscores a tragic reality — that for many years, the real roads to power in Bihar were paved not with bitumen, but with corruption.
