VIJAY DEO JHA
Ranchi, Aug 31: Jharkhand High Court advocate Rajiv Kumar, arrested for extortion, has told the Enforcement Directorate that Sonu Agrawal introduced him to businessman Amit Agrawal, but he denied having extorted money from the businessman.
Rajiv Kumar said this during a course of questioning in Ranchi by the ED. He said Sonu Agrawal offered him to be the counsel of Amit Agrawal to fight one of his cases for which he will be paid suitably. Even his to-and-fro flight tickets to Kolkata and Ranchi were arranged by Sonu Agrawal. It is believed that Sonu Agrawal had sent his trusted staff to pick up Rajiv Kumar from the airport in Kolkata.
Sonu Agrawal is a suspect of the National Investigation Agency in a terror funding case. It is believed that in the mid of July Rajiv Kumar had also visited Kolkata and the travel was arranged by Sonu Agrawal. Rajiv Kumar said that he had no idea that Sonu Agrawal was trapping him on the instruction of Amit Agrawal. Sonu Agrawal is said to have gone incommunicado after the arrest of Rajiv Kumar. The ED may require his questioning.
However, it is not clear whether the ED has given credence to his version of the story. The remand period of Rajiv Kumar was over today after which he was sent back to the Alipore jail in Kolkata.
The Kolkata police arrested Rajiv Kumar on July 31 along with Rs 50 Lakh on the basis of the complaint made by Amit Agrawal. The businessman alleged Rajiv Kumar extorted money for not dragging his name in a shell company related to PIL 4290/21 which is now pending before the Supreme Court. This case was taken by the Enforcement Directorate after the Kolkata police summoned the former deputy director of Ranchi zone of the ED Subodh Kumar.
What Rajiv Kumar explained about his meeting with Amit Agrawal apparently sounded strange and unusual to the investigators in the ED. It is because of this reason that Rajiv Kumar in the PIL had named Amit Agrawal for running a shell company and laundering money of politicians. Amit Agrawal had agitated against this allegation before Jharkhand High Court during the hearing. However, the matter of Amit Agrawal was closed as the Jharkhand High Court deleted his name among respondents of the case. When asked this, Rajiv Kumar said that he was hesitant to accept this offer owing to bitterness due to the PIL. But Sonu Agrawal told him that once the name of Amit Agrawal has been stricken- off from the PIL as respondent, Amit Agrawal would have no problem in hiring him as his advocate.
Rajiv Kumar said that on July 31 he went to Quest Mall along with his son and Sonu Agrawal to meet Amit Agrawal. As per Rajiv Kumar, Sonu Agrawal also briefed him about the client and the amount he should charge. He had a one-to-one meeting with Amit Agrawal. Rajiv Kumar said that after the meeting was over, he walked and sat inside his car. Amit Agrawal came close and put a bag in his hands stating he had carried a small gift for him. In the meantime, the police came and arrested him.
Rajiv Kumar did not give any cohesive reply whether or not he was tortured and pressurized to make some statements untrue or otherwise. The ED has also questioned Amit Agrawal in this context.
Vishal Choudhary’s questioning continues for the second day
Meanwhile, Vishal Choudhary again turned up before the Ranchi zonal office of the ED for his questioning. The ED had raided his office and premises in Ranchi in connection with the MNREGA and illegal mining scams.
