by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
New Delhi : The CBI on Saturday searched 14 locations in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, including the residence of a woman IAS officer, a Samajwadi Party leader and a BSP leader, in connection with its investigation into a case of illegal sand mining, with sources saying the role of former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, who held the portfolio of mining, will also be probed.
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) spokesperson Abhishek Dayal told reporters that the agency registered a case on January 2 against 11 people, including a few known public servants and unknown public servants and others, under several sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The agency has named the woman IAS officer B. Chandrakala, a former Hamirpur District Magistrate, miner Adil Khan, geologist/mining officer Moinuddin, SP leader Ramesh Kumar Mishra, his brother Dinesh Kumar Mishra, Ram Ashray Prajapati, a former clerk in the mining department in Hamirpur, Sanajy Dikshit, who contested the 2017 Assembly polls on Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) ticket, his father Satyadeo Dikshit, and Ram Avtar Singh, a former clerk in the mining department.
The official said that it conducted searches at 14 locations including one in New Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar area and Kanpur, Lucknow, Hamirpur, Jalon, Hamirpur and Noida (in Uttar Pradesh).
The agency carried out searches at two residential premises of Chandrakala in Lucknow and Noida and at the premises of the SP leader and his brother in Kanpur and his close associate Ambika Tiwari in Hamirpur.
Dayal said the case relates to the illegal sand mining between 2012 and 2016, which it had started investigating on the directions of the Allahabad High Court.
He said the agency was investigating the granting and renewal of the licenses for the mining in the state between 2012-16 and also during the ‘obstruction’ period.
The official said that the CBI team recovered a few documents and seized a bank locker and two bank accounts from the IAS officer.
From the residence of Adil Khan, the agency collected the documents related to mining. “We found that the mining licence to him was provided on the recommendations of the then mining minister Gayatri Prajapati,” he said.
He said the agency recovered Rs 12.5 lakh and 1.8 kg gold from the residence of Moinuddin in Hamirpur and Rs 2 crore and two kg gold from the residence of the retired clerk of the mining department, Ram Avtar Singh, in Jalon.
“Ram Avtar Singh was also holding a mining licence on a different name,” the official said.
The official said that it also carried out searches at the residence of SP leader Ramesh Kumar Mihsra’s wife in Lucknow but she has not been named in the FIR.
A senior agency official said that the agency will also probe the role of the Mining ministers in the state in 2012-16.
Former Chief Minister and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav held the mining ministry portfolio in the state from 2012 to 2013. Gayatri Prajapati succeded Akhilesh Yadav as Mining Minister.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
Mumbai : The entire CBI investigation in the politically sensitive Sohrabuddin Shaikh-Tulsiram Prajapati and Kausar Bi’s alleged encounter killings case was targeted “to act upon a script” and “anyhow implicate political leaders”, the case judgement delivered on December 21, and made available on Friday, said.
“The entire investigation was thus targeted to act upon a script to achieve the said goal and in the process of its zeal to anyhow implicate political leaders, anyhow the CBI created the evidence and placed statements purported to have been recorded under Sec.161 or Sec. 164 of the Cr.PC of witnesses in the chargesheet,” said Special CBI Judge S.J. Sharma in a strong indictment of the CBI.
“It clearly appears that the CBI was more concerned in establishing a particular preconceived and premeditated theory, rather than finding out the truth,” said Special Judge Sharma.
The verdict delivered last week acquitted all 22 remaining accused, including 21 policemen from Gujarat, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh, drawing curtains on the 12-year-old high-profile case.
Mauling the CBI, the judgement said the statements of the witnesses were wrongly recorded as part of the probe, “I have no hesitation in recording that during the investigation of these offences, the CBI was doing something other than reaching the trutha”
He said that the “premier investigating agency like CBI” pursued its theory and a script to somehow implicate political leaders, and “thereafter, did what was required to reach that goal, rather than conducting an investigation in accordance with law.”
In his final order, the Special Judge said that when he referred to witnesses having ‘turned hostile’, it meant that they didn’t depose as per their respective statements recorded by the CBI.
“However, I had the occasion of seeing the deposition of the witnesses while they were in the witness box in this court which clearly reflected that they were speaking the truth before this court,” Special Judge Sharma said.
In this context, the Special Judge referred to his predecessor (ex-Special Judge M.B. Gosavi), who while giving a discharge to the accused No. 16 (referring to Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah) “clearly recorded that the investigation was politically motivated.”
“It is no doubt a matter of regret that there is a reported killing of Sohrabuddin and Tulsiram and it is going unpunished. As also Kausar Bi (wife of Sohrabuddin) disappeared and the script of the CBI that she was killed and set ablaze is lacking in evidence, and (it) is also going unpunished.”
However, merely for the sake of record, the accused cannot be punished holding them guilty on moral or suspicion grounds and “I have therefore no options but to conclude that the accused are not guilty and are to be acquitted,” ruled Special Judge Sharma, in his last major judgement before retirement this month.
Special Judge Sharma noted that the (witnesses’) statements would not withstand the judicial scrutiny of the court and the witnesses whose statements were purportedly recorded (by CBI), “deposed fearlessly before the court”, clearly indicating that the earlier purported versions were wrongly recorded by CBI to justify its script to implicate politicians.
He also noted the “negligence of the CBI” towards the material parts of the probe, which clearly indicated that “they hurriedly completed the investigation” by using replica of the earlier recorded probe and implicated police personnel who had no knowledge of any conspiracy at all, “rather they appeared innocent.”
There were a total of 38 accused in the Sohrabuddin and Prajapati alleged fake encounter cases of 2005 and 2006, besides Kasuar Bi’s disappearance, rape and murder in 2005.
Among them, 15 accused including politicians like Shah and senior IPS officers, were discharged by the Special Court, Mumbai in Dec. 2014, one accused discharged later by Bombay High Court and the remaining 22 were acquitted last week.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
Satyendar Jain
New Delhi : A day after the Centre allowed the CBI to prosecute him, Delhi Urban Development Minister Satyendar Jain on Friday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi wanted to raze down unauthorized colonies and render people homeless.
“Being the Urban Development Minister of Delhi, I am under oath to get the unauthorized colonies authorized. It’s my duty to provide the residents with basic facilities… It is the democratic right of the people staying in these colonies,” Jain said in a statement.
The Union Home Ministry on Thursday granted sanction to prosecute Jain for having assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.
Calling it a vindictive action of the Modi government, Jain said he was amazed by the charges made against him.
“I am amazed at the charges made by the Centre; they are saying Satyendar Jain will become richer by regularizing these colonies. This is laughable and beyond comprehension. How will I become richer by regularizing the unauthorized colonies? Regularization of the unauthorized colonies will not benefit Satyendar Jain but will benefit the huge number of people residing in these colonies,” he said.
Jain, who holds seven portfolios including those of Health, Home and Public Works Department, said the Modi government can file as many cases as it wanted against him but “I won’t be cowed down and I will keep working in the same manner”.
“The people of Delhi have elected me. I will continue working for them with full integrity till my last breath and no amount of witch hunt will deter my resolve,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) East Delhi Lok Sabha in-charge Atishi said that the Centre’s move against Jain showed that the Modi government was completely against regularizing unauthorized colonies.
“The Prime Minister spends half the time abroad and talks about turning India into Singapore. But he doesn’t want to do that by developing these unauthorized colonies. Instead, he wants to destroy them,” Atishi told the media here.
She further said the Delhi government’s Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corp (DSIIDC) had already spent Rs 575 crore on 164 projects in unauthorised colonies.
“Sevety projects worth Rs 303 crore are underway and 40 more projects at an estimated cost of Rs 131 crore are in tendering stage,” she said.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
Satyendar Jain
New Delhi : The Union Home Ministry on Thursday granted sanction to prosecute Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain in a disproportionate assets case registered by the CBI in 2017, triggering an angry response from Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Jain is accused of floating several shell companies in Delhi including Akinchan Developers Pvt Ltd, Indo Metal Impex Pvt Ltd, Paryas Infosolutions Pvt Ltd and Manglayatan Projects Pvt Ltd during 2009-10 and 2010-11 for alleged money laundering.
“These shell companies do not have any real business. Satyendar Jain had laundered black money of Rs 16.39 crore during 2010-11 to 2015-16 through 54 shell companies of three hawala entry operators of Kolkata namely Jeevendra Mishra, Abhishek Chokhani and Rajendra Bansal,” said an official in the Home Ministry.
Jain, who holds seven portfolios including Health, Home and Public Works Department, has denied the allegations, saying the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) action is politically motivated.
Kejriwal criticised the Centre’s move, saying the BJP’s decision to registered the case amounted to an attack on people residing in unauthorised colonies.
“Satyendra Jain made the scheme to regularise unauthorised colonies. The Center did not pass it, instead registered a case against him. The BJP is strictly against the move to regularise unauthorised colonies. The BJP is the enemy of Delhiites,” he tweeted, calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi “harmful for Delhi”.
The CBI initiated a probe against him in April 2017 and registered a FIR on August 24 this year.
Besides Satyendar Jain, the CBI has named his wife Poonam, his alleged associates Ajit Prasad Jain, Vaibhav Jain, Sunil Kumar Jain and Ankush Jain as accused in the case.
“After laundering of unaccounted cash and receipt of equivalent in amounts in cheques through hawala entry operator and by using black money in the form of unaccounted cash, more than 200 bigha of agricultural land were purchased in names of companies controlled by Satyendar Jain in the vicinity of unorganized colonies located at Karala, Auchandi, Nizampur and Budhan areas in Delhi’s North and North-West areas during last five years,” said the official.
The official claimed that the Delhi Minister, after being prosecuted by the Income Tax Department, surrendered Rs 16.39 crore of “black money”, which was laundered using Kolkata-based shell companies for purchasing 200 bigha land under Income Disclosure Scheme 2016 on benami names of Vaibhav Jain and Ankush Jain.
On enquiry, it was found that Vaibhav Jain and Ankush Jain were in no way connected with the four shell companies floated by Satyendar Jain, said the official, claiming that Kolkata-based hawala entry operators also told the Income Tax department that the money laundering was done on the instruction of the Delhi Minister.
“Since Satyendar Jain has declared unaccounted income of Rs 16.39 crore in benami names and tax was paid on this amount, separate proceedings under Benami Property Transaction Act have been initiated. These proceedings are presently pending before the Income Tax Department.”
The re-assessment proceedings referred to cases have detected hawala transactions and instances of unaccounted cash payments in purchase of land, said the official.
The official said that Satyendar Jain had admitted in a writ petition in the Delhi High Court that black money totalling Rs 16.39 crore was actually laundered using shell companies controlled by three hawala entry operators of Kolkata.
“The efforts of the AAP government to regularize unauthorized colonies during its first tenure from December 28, 2013 to February 14, 2014 and present tenure is linked with the investment in agricultural land by Satyendar Jain. The proposed regularization of unauthorized colonies will convert these agricultural lands into residential and commercial land which will provide huge returns on the investment by the Minister,” the official claimed.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
Mumbai : The Central Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday filed a supplementary chargesheet against an accused, Ahmed Kamal Shaikh alias Ahmed Lambu, for his alleged involvement in the March 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, an official said.
The CBI lodged the supplementary chargesheet before the Designated TADA Court in the case registered 25 years ago.
Thirteen back-to-back blasts had rocked Mumbai on March 12, 1993 killing 257 people, injuring over 710 and destroying properties worth over Rs 27 crore.
Shaikh, one of the accused named by the CBI, had been absconding for the past 25 years and was arrested on June 1. He is in judicial custody.
Earlier, he had been declared a proclaimed offender by the Designated TADA Court, a non-bailable warrant of arrest was issued against him on September 17, 1997 and the Interpol had issued a red corner notice in his name.
The CBI probe revealed that Shaikh was part of the criminal conspiracy hatched for executing the blasts.
He had gone to Dubai and worked in close association with several other prime absconders such as Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar, Chhota Shakeel, Tiger Memon and others, CBI said.
After the Dubai meeting, Shaikh was given training in handling arms and ammunition, bombs making and throwing hand grenades, investigations revealed.
On March 12, a series of blasts shook Mumbai at prominent locations such as Bombay Stock Exchange, Air India Building, Zaveri Bazaar, Mandvi Cooperative Bank, a location in Worli, Fishermen’s Colony Mahim, Plaza Cinema, Regional Passport Office, Century Bazar, Kattha Bazaar, Hotel Sea Rock, Hotel Juhu Centaur, Mumbai Airport Sahar Terminal.
Later, police made several arrests including mafia operatives, Bollywood personalities, businessmen, government officials and policemen.
From them finally 129 appeared for trial and 100 were found guilty, including several absconders who had left the country for Dubai or Pakistan shortly after the blasts and still elude the law.
One of the accused, Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt was convicted and he completed his five-year sentence in February 2016, while another accused, Yakub Memon was hanged in Nagpur Central Jail in July 2015.
—IANS
