Sting probe: CBI will call Harish Rawat

A day after the CBI rejected the Uttarakhand government’s notification withdrawing permission for it to probe a sting operation allegedly involving CM Harish Rawat, the agency on Thursday maintained that it will soon call Mr Rawat for certain clarifications in the case.

The CBI on Wednesday rejected the notification and decided to continue with its inquiry for which permission was given during the President’s rule. Sources said that the fresh notification issued by the Uttrakhand government for “withdrawal of consent” to the CBI for probing the case was examined by legal experts. “The notification was not legally tenable and hence the CBI decided to continue with its preliminary enquiry in the case”, sources said, adding that the agency will soon call Mr Rawat for clarifications in the case. Mr Rawat had been summoned on May 9 but he had sought more time, after which he won the floor test and returned to power.

Mr Rawat has denied the allegation and termed the video “fake” after it was released by rebel Congress legislators. However, he later admitted that he was on camera in the sting operation.

The CBI on April 29 registered a preliminary enquiry (PE) to probe the video which shows Mr Rawat allegedly offering rebel Congress MLA bribes for support during a floor test in the Assembly. The agency has already examined a dissident MLA who had claimed that Mr Rawat had allegedly offered him Rs 2.5 crore for changing sides and one of his ministers later approached him with an offer of `10 crore. The agency has also examined chief of a private news channel, Mr Umesh Sharma, who carried out the sting operation. The sting CD circulated by Congress rebels, who created a political crisis in the state by siding with the BJP in the Assembly, purportedly shows Mr Rawat negotiating a money deal with the journalist to buy the support of MLAs who had revolted against him.

After Mr Rawat’s victory, the state Cabinet met on May 15 and withdrew the notification recommending a CBI probe into a sting operation involving him.