New Delhi: The anti-corruption ombudsman Lokpal Tuesday ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe corruption allegations in opposition to former Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra, who has been accused of taking money and costly items from Dubai-based actual property mogul Darshan Hiranandani in trade for her Parliament login ID and password.
The order within the cash-for-query case was primarily based on the central company’s preliminary report, which mentioned that it had prima facie discovered that the previous Krishnanagar MP had shared her Lok Sabha login credentials with Hiranandani and that she had additionally “received” costly items from the businessman.
Moitra was expelled from Lok Sabha final December on the again of a report from its Ethics Committee, which advisable the motion for “unethical conduct” and “contempt of the House” for sharing the consumer ID and password with an “unauthorised person”.
Moitra has appealed the motion, which got here on the again of a criticism made by Bharatiya Janata Party MP Nishikant Dubey, within the Supreme Court.
In its order Tuesday, Lokpal mentioned that whereas CBI’s preliminary investigation reveals that she had shared her credentials with Hiranandani, whether or not this was accomplished “in lieu of providing various types of assistance and gifts requires deeper investigation”.
“In conclusion, it is stated in the preliminary inquiry report that it is prima facie revealed that the RPS had unauthorisedly shared her login credentials of the Members Portal’ of Lok Sabha with Shri Darshan Hiranandani, who either provided information or posted questions directly on the Lok Sabha portal on behalf of the RPS (Respondent Public Servant). Several questions were related either directly or indirectly to the companies of Shri Darshan Hiranandani, or to sectors wherein he has business interests,” the order mentioned.
It added that it had “come in evidence that the RPS has demanded and accepted undue advantage in the form of payments towards air tickets, certain gift items, and help for the renovation of her officially allocated bungalow in New Delhi”.
The company has six months to finish its probe and should submit a month-to-month progress report.
In his criticism earlier than each Speaker Om Birla and the Lokpal in October, Dubey, an MP from Godda in Jharkhand, mentioned that Moitra “compromised national security” by sharing her credentials with Hiranandani, who logged in from Dubai and requested questions on her behalf.
On 8 November, Lokpal ordered the CBI to register a preliminary enquiry into the allegations — a transfer that’s usually a prelude to a daily case. In a preliminary enquiry, the CBI can’t conduct searches or arrest the suspect, limiting the scope of its investigation to merely issuing summons.
The company submitted its preliminary enquiry report back to the ombudsman on 15 February.
Significantly, Moitra has admitted to sharing her credentials with Hiranandani however has denied receiving any financial advantages. She has additionally referred to as her expulsion from Lok Sabha a “witch-hunt”.
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‘Bribe of Rs 2 crore not substantiated, needs investigation’
Moitra has been accused of accepting a bribe of Rs 2 crore in each Indian and overseas foreign money for sharing her login credentials with Hiranandani in May 2021 and receiving one other Rs 75 lakh earlier than the 2019 normal election.
However, the CBI admitted in its report that advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai, whose allegations type the idea of Dubey’s criticism, couldn’t present “additional or corroborative details” to substantiate this declare. Lokpal mentioned this required deeper investigation.
“With regard to this allegation, the CBI has submitted that this allegation is not substantiated as sufficient evidence could not be collected due to the limited scope of the inquiry. An investigation is required to unearth the truth of this allegation of a serious nature,” the order mentioned.
On the opposite hand, the CBI inquiry has discovered the allegation that Moitra sought costly gadgets and journey bills from Hiranandani to be true, the order says, including that the businessman footed the politician’s journey invoice of Rs 1,69,592 when she flew from Delhi to the UAE in November 2022.
The CBI additionally submitted in its report that it had prima facie discovered the allegations that Moitra had sought Hiranandani’s assist in renovating her residence as true, the order mentioned, including that the businessman’s in-house inside designer agency Hiranandani Construction Pvt Ltd. was despatched format plans for this.
“It is stated in the preliminary inquiry report that around the same time, the portal login credentials were shared by the RPS with Shri Darshan Hiranandani. Whether the login credentials were shared in lieu of providing various types of assistance and gifts requires deeper investigation due to the limited scope of the inquiry,” the order mentioned.
Ethics Committee report
In its 108-page report recommending Moitra’s expulsion in December, Lok Sabha’s Ethics Committee claimed that Moitra had travelled 4 instances to Dubai between January 2019 and September 2023, and there have been 47 logins along with her credentials accomplished from one Dubai-based IP handle.
The committee had additionally concluded that fifty out of the 61 questions requested within the title of Moitra had been geared toward “protecting or perpetuating business interests” of Hiranandani.
“Therefore, Smt Mahua Moitra is guilty of unethical conduct, breach of privileges available to Members of Parliament and Contempt of the House,” the committee report mentioned, including that Moitra’s “highly objectionable and deplorable conduct” additionally prima facie has an influence on “national security”.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
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