LAGATAR24 NETWORK
Ranchi, June 21: Arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Indian Army land scam case, problems are far from over for IAS officer Chhavi Ranjan.
The CBI is investigating a case against him whether or not he was involved in maligning the image of judiciary and probe agencies and tried to implicate judicial and probe agency officials with Kolkata-based businessman Amit Kumar Agarwal.
Well-placed sources confided that the CBI in December last year had summoned Chhavi Ranjan and recorded his statement.
Sources said that the agency found his role highly suspicious however he tried to defend that he was ever involved in the conspiracy to drop two contentious PILs.
Notably, the two PILs were filed before Jharkhand High Court by one Shivshankar Sharma alleging CM Hemant Soren for amassing properties through corrupt means. Sharma was represented by senior advocate Rajiv Kumar. The advocate also alleged the involvement of Amit Kumar Agarwal as a co-associate of Hemant Soren.
Later on, Amit Agarwal trapped Rajiv Kumar along with cash of Rs 50 Lakh and got him arrested by Kolkata police. He alleged that Rajiv Kumar demanded money to drop the PILs. Kolkata police tried to extract certain statement from Rajiv Kumar against judges and Enforcement Directorate’s officials.
Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate took over the investigation of this case and arrested Amit Kumar Agarwal and also secured judicial custody of Rajiv Kumar. The ED filed a chargesheet against Amit and Rajiv.
The CBI inquiry of this case was started on the instruction of the Jharkhand High Court as Amit Kumar Agarwal moved a petition before the Jharkhand High Court to seek relief and an independent inquiry of this matter as he felt aggrieved while booked as an accused by the ED.
The court of Justice Sanjay Dwivedi ordered the CBI to conduct a preliminary inquiry of this matter.
The CBI concluded the probe and lodged an FIR against Amit Kumar Agarwal and unknown officials of the Kolkata police for hatching a conspiracy and scandalising the judiciary, ED officials and other government officials through an allegedly frivolous FIR.
The CBI said that prima facie it appears commission of cognizable offences punishable u/s 120-B & 182 of IPC and Section 8 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (As amended in 2018) on the part of (i) Sh. Amit Kumar Agarwal; (ii) Unknown officials of Kolkata Police and (iii) Unknown Others.
The CBI said that the enquiry further revealed that the High Court clubbed both petitions together and active hearing was going on in both the PILs.
The CBI said that earlier in the month of March 2022, an attempt was made by Amit Kumar Agarwal through the then DC of Ranchi Chhavi Ranjan to influence Rajiv Kumar in connection with the PILs. The CBI said that Amit Kumar Agarwal filed a complaint dated 31.07.2022 at Hare Street Police Station against Rajiv Kumar and Shiv Shankar Sharma for illegally demanding a bribe amount of Rs. 10 Crore and for extorting the same for dismissing the PILs.
Based on the complaint of Amit Kumar Agarwal, the Hare Street Police Station, Kolkata registered a case FIR No. 222/2022 against Rajiv Kumar and Shiv Shankar Sharma for the above-mentioned allegations u/s 7A of PC Act, 1988 and section 120-B r/w 384 of IPC.
The CBI said that Amit Kumar Agarwal called Rajiv Kumar from Ranchi to Kolkata, first on 13.7.2022 and then on 31.7.2022 through one of his known Sonu Agarwal and induced him to take money for getting the PIL dismissed. The conversations between Amit Kumar Agarwal and Rajeev Kumar on both occasions were recorded by Amit Kumar Agarwal.
Moreover, Amit Kumar Agarwal induced Rajiv Kumar to use his good contacts with Judges and get the PIL matter dismissed and also offered him money and enquired about the amount of money required for the same.
The CBI said that when Amit Agrawal called Rajiv Kumar on 31.07.2022, he handed over Rs. 50 Lakh to Rajiv Kumar and got him trapped by the Kolkata Police.
Notably, the FIR no. 222/2022 under the Prevention of Corruption Act was registered by Hare Street Police Station on the basis of the said complaint of Amit Agrawal even without mentioning the name of any public servant or unknown public servants in the FIR before invoking the sections of Prevention of Corruption Act.
Furthermore, the information provided by Amit Agrawal to Hare Street PS was false and the bribe was given to Rajiv Kumar by alluring him with the intention to interfere with the judicial process. Contrary to the allegation made in the complaint to the Hare Street PS, it was Amit Agrawal who called Rajiv Kumar to Kolkata through Sonu Agarwal and offered him money. Further, the conversation recorded by Amit Kumar Agarwal also does not reveal any threat of extortion from Rajiv Kumar or claim to stop the agency from conducting any raid.
The enquiry has therefore revealed that Amit Kumar Agarwal had called Rajiv Kumar to Kolkata and offered and gave him Rs 50 lacs to induce public servant to get the PIL dismissed.
