Report Wire

Tag: CBI

  • MUDA ‘scam’ row: Lokayukta files FIR against Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah, BJP demands his resignation

    Bengaluru: The Lokayukta Police in Mysuru registered an FIR against Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Friday in a case of alleged unlawful allotment of 14 housing plots in the same city to his wife Parvathy, opening a new chapter of crisis in the veteran Congress leader’s four decades of. political life.

    The FIR names Siddaramaiah as the first accused and his wife as the second. His brotherinlaw Mallikarjunaswamy and Devaraju, the landowner who sold the plot, have been named the third and fourth accused, respectively.

    The police filed the FIR in accordance with the directions of a special court in Bengaluru, which on Wednesday, ordered investigation by the Lokayukta Police into complaints against Siddaramaiah and three others. The order by Special Court Judge Santhosh Gajanana Bhat came on a complaint from a Mysurubased activist Snehamayi Krishna and requires the Lokayukta Police to complete the investigation in three months.

    The police registered the case under Sections 120B, 166, 403, 406, 420, 426, 465, 468, 340, 351 and other relevant sections of the IPC, under Sections 9 and 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and under Sections 3, 53 and 54 of the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988 and, under sections 3 and 4 of Karnataka Land Grabbing Prohibition Act, 2011.

    The private complaint relates to Mysore Urban Development Authority allotting 14 housing plots in an upscale residential area in Mysuru to Siddaramaiah’s wife in return for 3.16 acres of land acquired in Kesare village on the city outskirts. The complainant, however, told the media that he would pursue legally to have the case transferred to the CBI, expressing a lack of faith in the investigation by the Lokayukta Police.Demands for resignationSiddaramaiah rejected demands for his resignation saying the question does not arise since he has not committed anything wrong. He said the Opposition parties have ensnared him in a false case, for the first time, fearing the overwhelming support of people he enjoys. The BJP, however, persisted with its demands for the CM’s resignation. BJP state president BY Vijayendra and Opposition leader R Ashoka urged him to resign and save the state’s honour. The party described the FIR as a major win for justice.

    “Years of corruption & neglect are finally coming to light. Kannadigas won’t forgive these scamsters for exploiting the vulnerable,” the party posted on X.

  • SC reserves verdict on Arvind Kejriwal’s pleas

    The Supreme Court has reserved its verdict on pleas filed by Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal seeking bail and challenging his arrest by CBI for his alleged involvement in the Delhi excise policy case.

    Senior lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Kejriwal, said his arrest was nothing but an “insurance arrest”, implying that CBI arrested him only to ensure that even if the CM gets bail in the ED case, he remains behind bars in CBI case.

    The CBI counsel alleged the Punjab government, at Kejriwal’s behest, has denied sanction to prosecute some state officials who allegedly armtwisted the owner of a Punjabbased distillery to comply with the alleged bribe demands. The counsel said the probe regarding that is stalled since the AAP government there hasn’t given sanction under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act.The bench verbally asked CBI counsel whether the distillery owner was a witness. Reply in the negative, the counsel said witnesses in Goa had refused to come forward to record their statement before Kejriwal was arrested, adding the witnesses recorded their statements only after Kejriwal’s arrest. “If Kejriwal is released on bail, the witnesses may turn hostile.”

    The CBI counsel objected to Kejriwal’s pleas, arguing that he had bypassed the trial court and straight away approached SC. The counsel contended that Kejriwal has failed to prove that his is an exceptional case which warrants a direct hearing from SC. The counsel said grant of bail to Kejriwal would amount to demoralizing high court. But SC disagreed with this contention.

    Singhvi said it would be unfair to relegate Kejriwal back to trial court when issues arising in the present bail case have been extensively argued before the trial court in a related matter. He added almost every other accused arrested by ED and CBI has been given bail, except Kejriwal.

  • CBI gets nod to bring to trial Lalu Prasad Yadav’s former OSD in landforjobs case

    The Central Bureau of Investigation has received sanction to prosecute Bhola Yadav, former officer on special duty (OSD) to former railway minister Lalu Prasad, for his alleged role in the landforjobs case.

    An intimation to this effect was given by CBI to a local court last week. As per available information, the competent authorities of Central Railway and Western Central Railway zone have agreed sanction to prosecute Bhola Yadav in the alleged scandal.

    The two sanctions were placed on record by CBI last week. The court was also informed that the CBI’s request seeking sanction for prosecution against Lalu Prasad and 31 other public servants is “under consideration” of the competent authorities.Irked by the delay in grant of sanction to prosecute Lalu Prasad and 31 others, a local court last month directed the authorities to take a decision on the same by August 20. The court had made it clear that in absence of any final decision, an authorized official from the office of the said competent authority shall appear in person to explain the delay.

    According to people in the know, an authorized official was present in the court last week. The court was informed that the CBI’s request is “under consideration”. As regards Lalu Prasad, the competent authority to accord prosecution sanction is the Union home ministry. As regards other public servants, the sanction will have to be decided by the railways ministry.

    CBI had previously received sanction to prosecute Lalu Prasad for his alleged involvement in the case. The agency had filed two charge sheets elaborating the former minister’s alleged role in illegal recruitment of employees in two zones Central and Western Central Railway.However, CBI filed its final and composite charge sheet in the case, including all the remaining railway zones (besides Central and Western Central). Lalu Prasad and some public servants were also charged in the final charge sheet. It is for this final charge sheet that CBI had sought prosecution sanction from the competent authorities in June. A decision on the same is awaited. In June, CBI had filed its final charge sheet against Lalu Prasad, wife Rabri Devi, son Tejashwi Yadav, daughter Hema Yadav, and the then OSD, Bhola Yadav, among others. A total of 78 individuals, including candidates (beneficiaries), were named in the charge sheet by CBI.

    In its July 15 order, a special court had impressed upon the need for an expeditious decision on sanction. The order said: “The proceedings in the entirety of the three charge sheets and the two supplementary charge sheets are presently at a standstill for want of decision on the aspect of sanction for prosecution of the public servants in question.”

  • Kolkata Rape-Murder Case: Polygraph Tests Done on Accused, CBI Conducts Financial Irregularity Searches.

    New Delhi: Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officers on Sunday performed a lie-detection test on the main accused, Sanjay Roy, in connection with their investigation into the rape and murder of a woman doctor of state-run RG Kar Medical College. The test took place at Kolkata’s Presidency Jail, where Roy is currently being held, the officer said.

    The CBI also conducted searches at various places in connection with its probe into the alleged financial irregularities in the hospital.

    Central agency officers also conducted polygraph tests on several individuals at their Kolkata office, he said, PTI reported, adding that the test on Roy was over after around four hours.

    On Saturday, four individuals, including former RGKMCH Principal Sandip Ghosh, underwent polygraph tests.

    The CBI has requested permission from a local court in Kolkata to administer lie-detector tests on seven individuals, including Roy and the former RGKMCH principal. While the result of these tests cannot be used as evidence during trial findings give the agency a direction for the further probe.

    A team of polygraph specialists from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) in Delhi, who were flown to Kolkata, conducted the tests.

    Roy, a 33-year-old civic volunteer with the Kolkata Police, was arrested on August 10, a day after the body of the 31-year-old female medic was discovered in the seminar hall of the medical college.

  • Kolkata Rape Murder Case: CBI To Conduct Polygraph Test On Ex-Principal Sandip Ghosh, 4 Doctors |

    A special court in Kolkata on Thursday granted permission to the CBI to conduct a polygraph test on former RG Kar Medical College principal Sandip Ghosh and four other doctors in connection with the alleged rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee at the hospital, according to officials.

    The CBI presented Ghosh and the four doctors, who were on duty on August 9, the day of the incident, before the special court to request authorization for the lie detection test, they said.

    Officials mentioned that the polygraph test requires not only the court’s approval but also the consent of the individuals involved. The special court approved the CBI’s request. The agency has also requested to perform the polygraph test on the main accused, Sanjay Roy.

    Earlier in the day, the CBI alleged in the Supreme Court that there was an attempt by the local police to cover up the rape and killing of the postgraduate medic as the crime scene was altered by the time the federal agency took over the probe. The rape and killing of the junior doctor in a seminar hall of the hospital has sparked widespread protests.

    The medic’s body with severe injury marks was found inside the seminar hall of the hospital’s chest department in the morning of August 9. A civic volunteer of the Kolkata Police was arrested the following day. On August 13, the Calcutta High Court ordered the transfer of the probe from the Kolkata Police to the CBI, which started its investigation on August 14.


    With Inputs From PTI

  • Third Eye: Different priorities, seeking blessings, and mission mode

    Different priorities: After an electoral experiment between AAP and Congress proved unproductive in the LS polls, Congress started the disengagement process, with most party leaders losing enthusiasm in being cheerleaders for CM Arvind Kejriwal in the Delhi liquor case. Thus, most Congress leaders remained lukewarm to SC granting interim bail to the CM in a case. But Kejriwal’s lawyer Abhishek Singhvi, a leading Congress spokesman and a prospective candidate for a Rajya Sabha seat, hailed Kejriwal’s interim bail and criticised CBI for arresting the CM in the same case. Some Congress campers tried to reason this mismatch by saying that the tribe of politician lawyers tend to pick clients randomly as these lawyers get cultivated by various parties in the season of growing highprofile cases involving leaders.

    Seeking Blessings

    Just as he completes six months in office, Chhattisgarh CM Vishnudeo Sai has decided to make the occasion auspicious. Sai and his ministers will spend the entire day in Ayodhya on July 13. The CM took oath on December 13 and the seventhmonth anniversary will be spent at Ram Temple. Mission Mode After becoming Rajya Sabha MP, BJP media incharge Anil Baluni decided to set up a planetarium and mountain museum in Pauri Garhwal. He dedicated the entire amount of Rs 17 crore for the project. A foundation stone was laid. Now, after becoming Lok Sabha MP from the same seat, Baluni recently met Union science and technology minister Jitendra Singh to speed up the project.

  • CBI arrests Arvind Kejriwal from Tihar jail in excise policy case |

    After examination of Arvind Kejriwal at the Tihar Jail, CBI arrests Delhi CM. According to ANI, Central Bureau of Investigation examined Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal in Tihar Jail and recorded his statement related to the Excise Policy case. CBI also got permission for Arvind Kejriwal’s production before the concerned trial court tomorrow. He will be produced before the court tomorrow.

    On Tuesday, the Delhi HC stayed the trial court order granting bail to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal while allowing the Directorate of Enforcement’s (ED) plea seeking a stay on the Trial Court order in the excise policy money laundering case.

    The vacation bench of Justice Sudhir Kumar Jain, while passing the order, said that documents and arguments were not appreciated properly by the trial court. This court is of the view that the trial court has not applied its mind and has not considered the material properly.

    The bench had reserved the order on June 21 after the agency challenged the trial court’s decision, which has been put on hold until the ruling. Meanwhile, the Court has already fixed the main matter for July, where ED challenged the trial court order granting Arvind Kejriwal regular bail in the case.

    On Monday, ED filed written submissions before the Delhi High Court opposing any relief to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the Excise Policy money laundering case. ED opposed the trial court order granting bail to Kejriwal and called the order illegal and perverse.

  • CBI to probe NEET-UG ‘scam’ amid intensifying paper leak allegations |

    The Ministry of Education late night on Saturday announced the decision to hand over the probe into alleged irregularities in the NEET (UG) Examination 2024 to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The decision comes in the wake of mounting concerns and regarding the integrity of the examination process.

    The ministry in its statement said, “Certain cases of alleged irregularities / cheating /impersonation / malpractices have been reported. For transparency on the conduct of the examination process, the Ministry of Education, Government of India after a review has decided to entrust the matter to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for comprehensive investigation.”

    The Ministry of Education entrusts the matter of alleged irregularities in NEET (UG) Examination 2024 to the CBI for a comprehensive investigation. pic.twitter.com/Bduc8KpCRt — ANI (@ANI) June 22, 2024