Saturday, Apr 27, 2024 | Last Update : 03:25 AM IST
Uttarakhand: 3 Cong ex-MLAs under CBI lens for horse-trading
The CBI on Wednesday filed an FIR against Harish Rawat and his then cabinet colleague Harak Singh Rawat.
New Delhi: A day after registering a case against the former chief minister of Uttarakhand, Harish Rawat for the alleged attempts of horse-trading in 2016, the CBI is now probing the role of at least three former Congress MLAs in connection with the case.
Sources said, “The CBI will soon call three former Congress MLAs for questioning in connection with the case. It is suspected that these three former MLAs were in constant touch with Harish Rawat”.
The CBI on Wednesday filed an FIR against Harish Rawat and his then cabinet colleague Harak Singh Rawat, who is now a member of the state’s BJP-led government, for alleged attempts of horse-trading in 2016, which was caught on tape by an editor of a news channel.
The CBI had registered a preliminary enquiry to probe the alleged horse-trading attempt on March 23, 2016, when the state was under President’s rule. It sent the tape to the forensic science laboratory, Gandhinagar in Gujarat for an analysis, which opined that the recording was “genuine” and there was no evidence of any “addition/deletion/insertion/tampering/morphing” in the video files, they added.
The video purportedly showed the Congress leader discussing money to win back the support of disgruntled MLAs, who had crossed over to the BJP so that the Congress could get back to power.
Recently, the Uttarakhand high court gave its nod to the CBI to go ahead with its investigation in the case and lodge an FIR against Mr Rawat after the agency submitted a report in a sealed cover on the preliminary inquiry. Besides Harish Rawat and Harak Singh Rawat, the CBI has also booked editor-in-chief of Noida-based Samachar Plus channel Umesh Sharma, who had purportedly carried out the sting operation in the airport lounge, sources said.
The CBI slapped Indian Penal Code section pertaining to criminal conspiracy and bribery provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act on the trio. After the video surfaced, the Centre handed over the probe to the CBI. During the preliminary enquiry stage, the CBI had questioned Harish Rawat and Umesh Sharma.
