The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Upendra Rai, journalist-cum-lobbyist in Lutyens Delhi and also conducted searches in various premises associated with him. Reliable sources have confirmed to PGurus that CBI has unearthed incriminating which directly point towards a deep-rooted nexus between Upendra Rai and a senior officer of the CBI.

The first question this throws up is as to how deep is the involvement of this official of the CBI with Upendra Rai? It has now been widely reported that certain senior Income Tax officials are under the CBI lens for their alleged links with Upendra Rai. CBI’s second First Information Report (FIR) against Upendra Rai clearly says that he was in touch with senior Income Tax officials in extorting many industrialists and corporates by blackmailing them with adverse Income Tax findings. PGurus had previously reported that Upendra Rai has been indulging in an extortion racket in the Nirav Modi case in connivance with several senior Income Tax (IT) officials[1].

Coming back, this senior CBI official, apparently has been entrusted with the investigation of the Aircel-Maxis case[2]. It is common knowledge that this official made no progress in the investigations against Chidambaram for last one year, thereby providing him & his family, the CBI protection. It is extremely strange, rather intriguing that the CBI status report indicting Chidambaram was found during the search conducted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) at his residence. The CBI’s draft report to be submitted to Supreme Court in sealed cover was found from Chidambaram’s bedroom[3] in Jor Bagh residence in New Delhi! That poses a very pertinent question as to who leaked the “top secret” investigation report to the person who was being investigated against? Did Upendra Rai collude with the top CBI official to send this across to the Chidambaram?

It is significant to mention that the Supreme Court bench monitoring the 2G scam, has directed that the investigation against Chidambarams in the Aircel-Maxis case needs to be concluded at the earliest. It is in this context that we may notice a fresh posse of complaints against the ED Investigating Officer Rajeshwar Singh of this case. It is relevant to mention here that the ED has attached the properties of Chidambaram’s son Karti under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) much before the CBI has filed the charge sheet in this case. The unholy nexus between Upendra Rai and the CBI official has got active again to protect Chidambaram again and target the Investigating Officer of the ED in this case[4]. This amounts to contempt of Supreme Court. These desperate attempts are being made by this duo to divert the attention from the investigations being carried out by the ED. To state the least, it is highly unfortunate that Upendra Rai, who has been placed in the UCM (Undesirable Contact Men) list by the CBI is in involved so deeply with this top ranking CBI official. Is there no accountability in our top investigative agencies? Where does the buck stop?

CBI investigations have revealed that Upendra Rai is in possession of Call Detail Records (CDR), which he has illegally obtained and which is a punishable offense under Telegraph Act. Further, he is in possession of Suspicious Transaction Records (STR) which are issued by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and which is punishable under the Official Secrets Act. The CBI already has two cases registered against Upendra Rai for possessing sensitive airport entry card (issued by the BCAS) and for allegedly carrying out extortion to the tune of over Rs 15 crore in one case, for which the ED is investigating him under the PMLA.

The top CBI official along with Upendra Rai have apparently started filing complaints against BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, who is one of the original petitioners in the 2G case. Many CBI officials doubted the behavior of the top CBI official when he started stringing with a lady journalist close to Chidambaram. There are doubts that this top CBI official is honey trapped by the gangs close to Chidambaram in Delhi. A former CBI Director told PGurus that these kinds of honey trapping is a casualty that agency suffers when its officers were trapped during the high profile cases involving top corporate and top politicians. He said in these kinds of sensitive cases, fixers will lure with cash or women. “I always tell my boys to stay away from women and wealth. Unfortunately, some weak or not so good guys fall for temptations,” he said.

The Supreme Court in its order dated March 12, 2018, has given a deadline of six months to conclude the investigations and has directed the CBI and ED to ensure that the investigations are completed by then[5]. This has further aggravated the unholy nexus between the duo – the CBI official and Upendra Rai – to attack the ED, which has already attached the assets of Chidambarams even before the CBI has filed a charge sheet in this case. It is necessary to emphasize that the attachment made by the ED, in this case, has been upheld by the Adjudicating Authority under the PMLA. Actually, the attachment by ED has revived the Aircel-Maxis case and forced CBI to speed up their probes.

Will the Aircel-Maxis case ever see the light of the day with this unholy nexus protecting Chidambaram? Will ED be able to proceed to complete the investigations in this case without the CBI filing charge sheet? How does Chidambaram get to know about every move of the CBI in this case? Who is responsible for the “top secret” investigation documents landing up in the residence of tainted former Finance Minister Chidambaram? Who is shielding this unholy nexus and thereby scuttling the investigations in this regard? Will the truth come out anytime soon in this matter?

References:

[1] CBI books Chidambaram’s benami petitioner Upendra Rai for bribing and forgery – May 3, 2018, PGurus.com

[2] Chidambaram files a frivolous petition through benami against the ED officer probing Aircel-Maxis scam – Apr 21, 2018, PGurus.com

[3] Aircel-Maxis Scam: Time to arrest Chidambaram for seizure of CBI’s documents from his bedroom – Feb 9, 2018, PGurus.com

[4] Chidambaram files a frivolous petition through benami against the ED officer probing Aircel-Maxis scam – Apr 21, 2018, PGurus.com

[5] SC slams CBI and ED. Directs to finish the investigation in Aircel-Maxis case in six months – Mar 12, 2018, PGurus.com