News Analysis India

Tag: CBI

  • CBI to interrogate West Bengal Minister Manas Ranjan Bhunia on Monday in I-Core ponzi scam case

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will question West Bengal minister Manas Ranjan Bhunia at his residence on Monday in connection with its probe into the I-Core ponzi scam, a source in the agency said.

    Bhunia, the minister for water resources investigation and development, will be quizzed at his home as he is a senior citizen, the source said.

    The Trinamool Congress MLA from Sabang was allegedly seen in some of the public functions organised by the now-defunct I-Core which was charged with duping investors by offering them abnormally high returns on investments.

    “Officials of the economic offences wing of the CBI will go to Bhunia’s home to quiz him in the I-Core chit fund case,” the source said.

    Earlier, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had also served a notice to the minister in the same ponzi scam.

    The CBI had on September 13 questioned West Bengal Industry Minister Partha Chatterjee for nearly two hours in connection with his alleged involvement in the I-Core chit fund scam.

    Like Saradha and Rose Valley chit fund companies, I-Core raised money from the public by several fraudulent schemes floated by it.

    The CBI had taken over the investigation of Saradha and other ponzi scam cases on the orders of the Supreme Court on May 9, 2014.

  • Dhanbad hit and run case: Disappointed Jharkhand HC summons CBI Zonal Director

    Express News Service

    RANCHI: Expressing disappointment over the progress report in the alleged murder of Additional District and Session Judge Uttam Anand, the Jharkhand High Court has directed CBI Zonal Director to be present during the next hearing on September 23.

    Reacting to the progress report submitted by CBI on Thursday, the division bench of Chief Justice Dr Ravi Ranjan and Justice SN Prasad said that the investigation agency has been filing the stereotype reports, which has nothing new in it.  

    Notably, CCTV footage showing an auto-rickshaw intentionally hitting the Judge from behind on a deserted road has raised doubts over his death while he was on his morning walk schedule on July 28. The incident took place near Golf Ground less than 500 meters from his house at Judge Colony of Hirapur, when he was out for his daily morning walk during which, an unidentified auto-rickshaw hit him. Hours after the CCTV footage surfaced indicating that the incident was ‘intentional’ rather than an ‘accident’, the Jharkhand High Court took suo-moto cognizance into the matter calling the incident a direct attack on the judiciary.

    “The division bench expressed disappointment over the progress report saying that the investigation has not reached beyond the arresting of two persons in the case, which is really unfortunate,” said Jharkhand High Court Advocate Association Treasurer, Dheeraj Kumar. The Court has directed CBI Director to be present virtually during the hearing on September 23, he added. “The Court also observed that the status report is not satisfactory as stereotype reports are being filed every week,” Kumar said.

    According to the Court, circumstances suggest that a judicial officer has been killed in broad daylight and therefore they want results as only reports cannot satisfy them. The mystery, why auto-driver killed the Judicial Officer has not been solved by the CBI so far, it said. The Court also observed that this is the first such incident where an auto-rickshaw has been used for killing so that the investigating agencies could be misguided easily. CCTV footage clearly suggests that the judge was deliberately hit by the auto driver, it added.

    The Court, however, said that they have full confidence over the investigation of CBI but, at the same time, it is also a fact that no concrete information has been brought forward by them – what exactly was the motive behind the killing and who was behind the entire conspiracy?  Jharkhand HC has been reviewing the investigation every week on the directions of the Supreme Court, but no concrete information has been provided by the investigating agency so far, it said

  • Delhi HC seeks CBI reply on bail plea of official in Anil Deshmukh corruption case

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Thursday sought CBI’s reply on a plea by its official Abhishek Tiwari, seeking bail in connection with alleged leak of the probe agency’s preliminary inquiry report in a corruption case against former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh.

    Justice Yogesh Khanna issued notice on the bail plea and listed the matter for further hearing on September 27, along with a similar petition of the co-accused and Deshmukh’s lawyer Anand Daga. The CBI had registered a case against its sub-inspector Tiwari, Nagpur-based advocate Daga and others on various allegations, including illegal gratification.

    Daga was arrested for allegedly trying to subvert the Bombay High Court-directed preliminary enquiry against Deshmukh. According to the plea, Tiwari was detained on August 30, arrested on September 1 and is in judicial custody since September 6.

    Tiwari has challenged a special CBI court’s September 8 order which had rejected his bail application. “The petitioner is a victim of circumstances in as much as he has been made scapegoat and victimised by his senior in the CBI in order to put undue pressure for reason best known to them whereas in the facts and circumstances of the case, the petitioner is not involved in the alleged offence as put forth in the present Crime case,” said the plea, filed through advocates Meenesh Dubey and Abdhesh Chaudhary.

    The official said he has a clean and spotless service record and it was because of his integrity and uprightness that he was recommended by his seniors to the ongoing investigation relating to the former home minister of Maharashtra along with other officers.

    He alleged that he had not been allowed to perform his duty in a fearless manner for last more than one year and was always subjected to harassment and mental torture. The trial court had on rejected the bail pleas of Tiwari and Daga, saying that the investigation was still inconclusive.

    A report of the preliminary enquiry (PE) purportedly giving clean chit to Deshmukh was leaked earlier causing embarrassment to the agency. The CBI started a probe into the leakage in which it emerged that findings of the PE were influenced.

    “Attempts by Anil Deshmukh’s team were in contempt of the Bombay High Court which had directed that all concerned should fully cooperate with the CBI while conducting the PE. In this case, it has appeared that Deshmukh’s team tried to subvert the PE,” the CBI had said.

    The CBI had started a PE on the orders of the Bombay High Court which had issued the direction while hearing a public interest litigation on allegations of corruption against Deshmukh.

    In the FIR, the CBI had booked Deshmukh and others unidentified under IPC sections related to criminal conspiracy and sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act for “attempt to obtain undue advantage for improper and dishonest performance of public duty”.

    Allegations against Deshmukh had surfaced after the removal of Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh. He was removed after the alleged role of policeman Sachin Waze surfaced in the case of an explosive-laden SUV which was found parked outside the residence of industrialist Mukesh Ambani.

    Waze was arrested by the NIA. The FIR alleged that Deshmukh “and others” exercised undue influence over the transfer and posting of officials.

  • Eastern Coalfields pilferage case: CBI searches three locations in Delhi, West Bengal

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The CBI on Thursday conducted searches at three locations in Delhi and West Bengal in connection with alleged pilferage of coal from Eastern Coalfields Ltd (ECL) mines in Asansol, officials said.

    During the operation, the residence of a former ECL director in the national capital’s Dwarka area, the residence of the then general manager of the public sector unit in West Bengal’s Asansol and the residence of a Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) inspector posted at the NTPC in Farakka in West Bengal were searched, they said.

    The multi-crore coal pilferage scam is related to the Eastern Coalfields Ltd’s mines in West Bengal’s Kunustoria and Kajora areas.

    The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had registered an FIR in November last year against the alleged kingpin of the pilferage racket, Anup Manjhi alias Lala, ECL general managers Amit Kumar Dhar and Jayesh Chandra Rai, ECL security chief Tanmay Das, Kunustoria area security inspector Dhananjay Rai and Kajor area security in-charge Debashish Mukherjee.

  • CBI summons Mamata Banerjee’s election agent Sheik Sufian in post poll violence case

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The CBI has summoned West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s election agent Sheik Sufian on Thursday in connection with a murder case allegedly related to post poll violence in Nandigram from where the TMC supremo had unsuccessfully contested, officials said.

    The case pertains to fatal attack on Debabrata Maity by unidentified people in Nandigram on May 3.

    Maity succumbed to injuries 10 days later while undergoing treatment, they said.

    Nandigram had seen a high-pitched electoral battle between Banerjee and her confidante turned-rival Shuvendu Adhikari which was narrowly clinched by the latter.

    Sufian, a TMC leader, was also a complainant in connection with alleged attack on Banerjee during poll campaign.

    The probe agency, meanwhile, has taken over one more case of murder related to alleged post-poll violence in West Bengal, taking the tally of such cases registered by the agency so far to 35, officials said on Wednesday.

    The case was filed by one Gobindo Burman against 12 accused people who allegedly hurled bombs and fired at a voting booth in Cooch Behar where Burman and his family members had gone to cast their votes on April 10, the FIR alleged.

    Burman alleged that one of the accused fired targeting his brother who fell on the ground and later succumbed to injuries while being taken to the hospital, they said.

    “One of the 12 miscreants allegedly opened fire targeting the complainant’s brother. The victim was taken to Sitalkuchi hospital where he was declared dead. The FIR was registered against 12 accused.

    “CBI has so far registered 35 cases, taking over the investigation of these cases earlier registered at different police stations in West Bengal, in compliance with the orders of the Honourable High Court at Calcutta,” CBI spokesperson R C Joshi said.

    The agency took over the investigation into the post poll violence on the orders of the Calcutta High Court.

    The court directives came after an NHRC committee submitted a report on the violence in the state after the poll results were announced on May 2, declaring the astounding victory of Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) humbling the BJP in a bitterly fought eight-phase electoral battle.

  • CBI, ED officers summoned by West Bengal Speaker Biman Bandyopadhyay on September 22

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: West Bengal Speaker Biman Bandyopadhyay on Monday said he has summoned senior CBI and Enforcement Directorate officers on September 22 to explain why no permission had been taken from the speaker’s office before submitting charge sheets against legislators of the state in recent times.

    Bandopadhyay said that the speaker’s office was not kept in the loop and no permission was taken from it while initiating action against the elected representatives.

    Several legislators of the ruling Trinamool Congress, including ministers, had been charge sheeted and have been summoned in recent times by the two central probe agencies for their alleged involvement in ponzi scam cases and the Narada sting footage case.

    Bandyopadhyay told PTI “I have sought an explanation from CBI and ED why the speaker’s office is not being informed while framing charge sheets against MLAs and summoning them. A letter has been sent to the city offices of the two central agencies.”

    “In the letter I have asked the ED and CBI officers to come to the assembly on September 22 and give an explanation as to why the speaker’s office was not provided any prior information and why action was taken without seeking any permission from me,” he said.

    TMC leaders like Sukhendu Sekhar Roy and Kunal Ghosh had maintained that the investigating agencies always inform the speaker of the Lok Sabha for any such action (charge sheet) against MPs but the practice is not followed concerning MLAs in Bengal.

    It is the norm to intimate the head of the house concerned before its member – MP, MLA or MLC is arrested, detained or convicted.

  • CBI questions Bengal minister in chit fund scam case

    Express News Service

    KOLKATA: A four-member CBI team on Monday interrogated West Bengal Industry and Commerce Minister, Partha Chatterjee, for two hours at his office in connection with the I-Core chit fund scam. The central agency served Chatterjee a notice asking him to turn up at the investigating agency’s office on Monday to face interrogation. The Bengal minister informed the CBI that he was a senior citizen and would not be able to go to the agency’s office. He also requested the central agency follow the procedure at his office. “They questioned me as a minister of the state. I told them whatever I had to say. I hope they are satisfied with my answer. I also told them that I will be always ready to cooperate in the investigation,” Chatterjee said. 

    Earlier, the central agency had sent three notices to Chatterjee. “When he replied to our last notice saying he would not be able to come to our office to reply to our questions, we decided to send four officers to his office to record his statement,” said a CBI officer in Kolkata. 

    Chatterjee was seen attending some of the public events organised by I-Core. “He was present in the events as a minister of West Bengal. We questioned him to ascertain the extent of his role in the scam,” said the CBI officer. 

    Sources in the central agency said a club in Naktala in south Kolkata received huge funds from I-Core during Durga Puja a few years back and Chatterjee was associated with the club. 

    The now-defunct I-Core has been charged with duping investors by promising them abnormally high returns on investments. The CBI had summoned Chatterjee in March this year and recorded his statement.

    On multiple occasions, Chatterjee denied the allegation of his involvement in the chit fund scam. The central agency had arrested two directors of the firm, Anukul Maity and his wife Kanika, last year and Maity passed away in jail last year.

  • CBI interrogates West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee for two hours in I-Core ponzi scam case

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday questioned West Bengal Industry Minister Partha Chatterjee for nearly two hours in connection with his alleged involvement in the I-Core ponzi scam, sources in the probe agency said.

    A three-member CBI team questioned Chatterjee, also a senior Trinamool Congress leader, in his Camac Street office. “I told them whatever I had to say. I hope they are satisfied with the answers,” he told reporters after the questioning.

    Chatterjee was allegedly seen in some of the public functions organised by the now-defunct I-Core which was charged with duping investors by offering them abnormally high returns on investments. Like Saradha and Rose Valley chit fund companies, I-Core raised money from the public by several fraudulent schemes floated by it.

    The economic offences wing of the CBI had asked Chatterjee to appear before its officials on September 13 at the CGO Complex office of the central agency. The TMC secretary general, however, pleaded that he be interrogated at his office since he is busy with other preoccupations, CBI sources said.

    Earlier, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had also served a notice to the minister in the same ponzi scam. The CBI had taken over the investigation of Saradha and other ponzi scam cases on the orders of the Supreme Court on May 9, 2014.

  • Bengal post-poll violence: SC to hear on September 20 plea against HC order directing CBI probe

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday said it would hear on September 20 the West Bengal government’s appeal challenging the Calcutta High Court order directing court-monitored CBI probe into the heinous cases of rape and murder during the post-poll violence in the state after accepting the an NHRC panel’s recommendations.

    A bench comprising Justices Vineet Saran and Aniruddha Bose deferred the matter to go through a chart submitted by the state government.

    Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the state government, pointed to the members of the committee that has been formed to investigate the incidents and said, “Can you imagine these people have been appointed to collect the data? Is this a BJP investigating committee my Lords?” He further said that for cases like rape and murder there is the CBI and for other events, there is a Special Investigative Team (SIT).

    The apex court then observed, “If somebody had a political past and if he lands up in an official position by that very fact will we treat him to be biased?” Sibal submitted that the members are still posting posts related to BJP and how can chairman of Human Rights Committee appoint such members? He sought some interim order in the meantime.

    he apex court then said that it would hear the case on September 20. “Nothing will happen. We’ll have it on Monday,” the bench said.

    The state government in its special leave petition alleged that it did not expect fair and just investigation by the central agency which is busy foisting cases against the functionaries of ruling Trinamool Congress Party.

    Earlier, lawyer Anindya Sundar Das, one of the PIL petitioners on whose plea the High Court August 19 verdict came, had filed a caveat in the apex court urging that no order be passed without hearing him if the state or other litigant move appeals.

    A five-judge bench of the High Court, headed by Acting Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal, had ordered a CBI investigation in all alleged cases of heinous crimes in West Bengal after the assembly poll results this year in which the ruling TMC came back to power.

    As regards other criminal cases related to post-poll violence, the high court had directed that they be investigated by a Special Investigation Team under the monitoring of the court.

    The high court bench, which also comprised justices IP Mukerji, Harish Tandon, Soumen Sen and Subrata Talukdar, had observed that there were “definite and proved” allegations that complaints of the victims of violence in the aftermath of the West Bengal assembly polls were not even registered.

    Ordering setting up of an SIT to probe all other cases, it had said that it will include Suman Bala Sahoo, Soumen Mitra and Ranveer Kumar, all IPS officers of the West Bengal cadre. “All the cases where, as per the report of the Committee, the allegations are about murder of a person and crime against women regarding rape/attempt to rape, shall be referred to CBI for investigation,” it had said.

    The high court has also directed the NHRC committee, constituted by its chairman on a direction by the five-judge bench, and any other commission or authority and the state to immediately hand over the records of the cases to the CBI to carry forward the probe.

    The bench had said it will monitor the investigations by both the CBI and the SIT and asked the two agencies to submit status reports to the court within six weeks. It had said that the working of the SIT will be overseen by a retired Judge of the Supreme Court for which a separate order will be passed after obtaining his/her consent.

    In its ruling, the bench had said heinous crimes such as murder and rape “deserve to be investigated by an independent agency which in the circumstances can only be Central Bureau of Investigation”. The bench had said the State failed to register FIRs even in some cases of alleged murder.

    “This shows a pre-determined mind to take the investigation into a particular direction. Under such circumstances investigation by independent agency will inspire confidence to all concerned,” it had noted.

    It had said allegations that the police had not registered a number of cases initially and that some were registered only after the court had intervened or the committee was constituted were found to be true. It had observed that the facts in relation to the allegations made in the PILs are “even more glaring” as the incidents are not isolated to one place in the state.

    The NHRC committee had on July 13 submitted its final report to the court.

    An interim report of the NHRC committee had mentioned that Atif Rasheed, a member of the committee, was obstructed from discharging his duty and he and his team members were attacked by some undesirable elements on June 29 in Jadavpur area on the southern fringe of the city, the court noted.

    The PILs had alleged that people were subjected to assault, made to flee homes and properties were destroyed during the violence in the wake of the assembly elections and sought impartial probe into the incidents.

  • Seven arrested by CBI in murder case linked to Bengal post-poll violence

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The CBI has arrested seven persons on Sunday in connection with a murder case in Cooch Behar linked to post-poll violence in West Bengal, officials said.

    The family of the victim, Hardhan Roy, had alleged that one Arjun Munda had taken him to Rajaghora river on May 3 where he was found smeared in blood, they said.

    He was taken to the hospital where he had died during treatment, according to the FIR.

    The CBI had arrested four persons on Saturday in connection with another murder case in Tufanganj reported during the violence.

    It was alleged that on May 4 TMC supporters Sahinur Ahmed and Prosenjit were having dinner when four BJP supporters joined them.

    After the dinner, Sahinur and Prosenjit were attacked resulting in severe injuries.

    They were dragged to a nearby maize field and left there.

    Prosenjit survived but Sahinur was found dead, the FIR said.

    The CBI has taken over the cases on the instructions of a five-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court that had entrusted to the agency the investigation of alleged murder and rape incidents reported during post-poll violence in West Bengal, they said.

    The high court’s directives came after a National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) committee submitted a report on the violence in the state that followed the declaration of assembly election results on May 2 in which the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress humbled the BJP in a bitterly fought eight-phase contest.