Lucknow, Jul 23 (IANS): The Vigilance Department grilled Congress leader and former BSP minister Naseemuddin Siddiqui for hours over two days in connection with the Rs 1,400 crore scam involving construction of memorials in Lucknow and Noida during Mayawati's regime.

Sources in the department said that Siddiqui was grilled for five hours on Wednesday and Thursday during which he faced around 100 questions, prepared by the officials to unravel the scam in the construction of memorials.

Sources said that there would be more rounds of questioning in the coming days.

On July 1, notices had been served on 40 accused persons, including former Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) ministers Naseemuddin Siddiqui and Babu Singh Kushwaha, and 20 government officers for recording their statements.

While Siddiqui, who joined the Congress in 2018, turned up for questioning, Kushwaha sought more time for preparation.

Vigilance officials are now planning to interrogate Kushwaha in the first week of August.

An FIR was lodged in the memorial scam in 2014 after the Lokayukta probed alleged irregularities and corruption and recommended FIRs for corruption against 199 persons, including former BSP ministers Naseemuddin Siddiqui, Babu Singh Kushwaha, and 12 BSP MLAs in 2013.

Vigilance officials said the project managers had used red sandstone purchased in the construction of memorials at exorbitant rates.

The sandstone used in construction of parks and memorials was procured from Mirzapur but routed to Rajasthan in order to make more money, thereby causing massive losses to the state exchequer.

Vigilance had also filed the first charge sheet in the scam in October 2020, in which it had named six government officials.

The Enforcement Directorate had also registered a case of money laundering and attached properties of engineers and contractors.