In the wake of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) unearthing a massive recruitment scam, the Railways has postponed the written examinations by all the Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs) scheduled on June 27. These exams were to be held for the posts of enquiry-cum-reservation clerks and goods guards.
The Railway board has begun a technical audit into the examinations conducted by the various RRBs, including the assistant loco-pilot and assistant station master exams conducted by the Mumbai RRB.
Meanwhile, the CBI still awaits the nod from the Centre to arrest the Mumbai RRB chairman, Mr S.M. Sharma, amidst reports that his house in Mumbai is locked up.
A senior CBI official said, “We have sought the permission for Mr Sharma’s arrest as he is a joint-secretary rank official. As per the Section 6 of Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, we need the permission.”
CBI officials said they have no information about Mr Sharma’s house being locked up. The CBI is probing further into the scam, which, it has turned out, is a “family enterprise” of two top Railways officials — Mr S.M. Sharma and the Raipur additional divisional railway manager, Mr Arun Kumar Jagannadham.
Hunt is on for other accused including agents and sub-agents. CBI teams, which left for various parts of the country, are brining four suspects who were picked up for questioning. Four of the accused — Mr Vivek Bhardwaj, Mr Sharma’s son, Mr A.K. Jagannadham, his son, Mr Srujan and Mr Murthy — have applied for bail.
Meanwhile, Railway officials stated that Mr Sharma has been placed under suspension with immediate effect, until further orders.
Showing posts with label CBI. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CBI. Show all posts
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Friday, June 18, 2010
RRB chief son in paper leak racket
The city unit of the Central Bureau of Investigation has busted a major racket in the railways that was leaking out question papers of recruitment exams for money.
Sleuths arrested four persons including Mr Vivek Bhardwaj, the son of the Mumbai railway recruitment board chairman, Mr S.M. Sharma, on Thursday in connection with the recruitment scam and seized lakhs of rupees of cash from them. CBI sources said that the question paper in the recent recruitment test for assistant station master was also leaked out by the racket.
“Before the exam the accused used to identify the prospective candidates and leak out the questions,” said an investigating official.
“They withhold the original certificates of the candidates till they pay the bribe. For the posts like ASM they are collecting Rs 3 lakh.” Question papers had been leaked out in Nagpur, Sholapur and several other centres.
It was the Hyderabad Task Force police who first got wind of the scam and it passed on the information to the CBI after realising the case had national repercussions.
Sleuths arrested four persons including Mr Vivek Bhardwaj, the son of the Mumbai railway recruitment board chairman, Mr S.M. Sharma, on Thursday in connection with the recruitment scam and seized lakhs of rupees of cash from them. CBI sources said that the question paper in the recent recruitment test for assistant station master was also leaked out by the racket.
“Before the exam the accused used to identify the prospective candidates and leak out the questions,” said an investigating official.
“They withhold the original certificates of the candidates till they pay the bribe. For the posts like ASM they are collecting Rs 3 lakh.” Question papers had been leaked out in Nagpur, Sholapur and several other centres.
It was the Hyderabad Task Force police who first got wind of the scam and it passed on the information to the CBI after realising the case had national repercussions.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Macca, Ajmer blasts are linked, feels CBI
The Central Bureau of Investigation and Rajasthan’s Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) believe that the Abhinav Bharat group, suspected of involvement in the Ajmer dargah blast, was also involved in the Macca Masjid blasts in the city on May 18, 2007 in which six people died.
The link, the CBI believes, is Devender Gupta, arrested by the ATS last week for the bomb blast at Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti dargah in Ajmer in October 2007 which killed three and injured 30.
The CBI Delhi team that questioned Colonel Purohit and Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur of the Abhinav Bharat group and key suspects in the Malegaon blast case at Nashik Central jail, are now in Rajasthan to grill Devender Gupta and Chandrashekar Patidar of Madhya Pradesh, key suspects in the Ajmer blast, to confirm their role in the Macca Masjid blast case.
Deccan Chronicle had reported on November 16, 2009, that the CBI, which was probing the Macca Masjid blast was checking if Lt. Col. P.S. Purohit had any role in it. The CBI’s interest in the case was roused following the claim of the Maharashtra ATS that Purohit supplied RDX for the bombs that exploded in the Samjhauta Express in 2008. The biggest connection between the blasts on the Samjhauta Express and the one in Macca Masjid, Deccan Chronicle reported, was that the safety switch mechanism on both sets of explosives were similar.
Forensic experts have confirmed that the bombs used in the Macca Masjid blasts were serially numbered 1 and 2 and that the bombs used in the Ajmer dargah blasts were numbered 3 and 4. There are striking similarities in the make of the bombs used in both places and a cellphone alarm was used to trigger both explosions.
The two blasts are now said to be part of a single conspiracy. Experts confirmed that black boxes were used to place cylindrical iron case bombs stuffed with RDX in both the Macca Masjid and Ajmer blasts. Devender Gupta was associated with Sunil Joshi of Indore, Madhya Pradesh.
The link, the CBI believes, is Devender Gupta, arrested by the ATS last week for the bomb blast at Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti dargah in Ajmer in October 2007 which killed three and injured 30.
The CBI Delhi team that questioned Colonel Purohit and Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur of the Abhinav Bharat group and key suspects in the Malegaon blast case at Nashik Central jail, are now in Rajasthan to grill Devender Gupta and Chandrashekar Patidar of Madhya Pradesh, key suspects in the Ajmer blast, to confirm their role in the Macca Masjid blast case.
Deccan Chronicle had reported on November 16, 2009, that the CBI, which was probing the Macca Masjid blast was checking if Lt. Col. P.S. Purohit had any role in it. The CBI’s interest in the case was roused following the claim of the Maharashtra ATS that Purohit supplied RDX for the bombs that exploded in the Samjhauta Express in 2008. The biggest connection between the blasts on the Samjhauta Express and the one in Macca Masjid, Deccan Chronicle reported, was that the safety switch mechanism on both sets of explosives were similar.
Forensic experts have confirmed that the bombs used in the Macca Masjid blasts were serially numbered 1 and 2 and that the bombs used in the Ajmer dargah blasts were numbered 3 and 4. There are striking similarities in the make of the bombs used in both places and a cellphone alarm was used to trigger both explosions.
The two blasts are now said to be part of a single conspiracy. Experts confirmed that black boxes were used to place cylindrical iron case bombs stuffed with RDX in both the Macca Masjid and Ajmer blasts. Devender Gupta was associated with Sunil Joshi of Indore, Madhya Pradesh.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Sohrabuddin case: CBI calls six IPS officers for questioning
The Central Bureau of Investigation, probing the fake encounter of Sohrabuddin Sheikh and the alleged murder of his wife Kauserbi, has called six IPS officers for questioning sometime next week, an official said on Friday.
“We have called in some IPS officers who were part of the earlier investigation in the case for questioning,” a CBI official told PTI here.
They include Geetha Johri, who was the Investigating Officer when the case was being probed by the State CID, according to CBI sources.
The central agency has also called Rajneesh Rai, who was the one who had arrested three IPS officers, D.G. Vanzara, Rajkumar Pandian and Dinesh M.N., considered to be main conspirators behind the encounter of Sheikh and disappearance of his wife in November 2005, they said.
Two former chiefs of Gujarat CID and the current head of the State agency, which was investigating the case before it was handed over to the CBI, have also been called for questioning, the sources said.
While V.V. Rabari is the present head of CID, his predecessors were G.C. Raigar and O P Mathur.
The sixth officer is Girish Singhal, currently with Gujarat’s Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS). Mr. Singhal was Gandinagar SP when the encounter took place.
Two days ago, the CBI arrested DCP Abhay Chudasama, the fourth IPS officer held in the case.
“We have called in some IPS officers who were part of the earlier investigation in the case for questioning,” a CBI official told PTI here.
They include Geetha Johri, who was the Investigating Officer when the case was being probed by the State CID, according to CBI sources.
The central agency has also called Rajneesh Rai, who was the one who had arrested three IPS officers, D.G. Vanzara, Rajkumar Pandian and Dinesh M.N., considered to be main conspirators behind the encounter of Sheikh and disappearance of his wife in November 2005, they said.
Two former chiefs of Gujarat CID and the current head of the State agency, which was investigating the case before it was handed over to the CBI, have also been called for questioning, the sources said.
While V.V. Rabari is the present head of CID, his predecessors were G.C. Raigar and O P Mathur.
The sixth officer is Girish Singhal, currently with Gujarat’s Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS). Mr. Singhal was Gandinagar SP when the encounter took place.
Two days ago, the CBI arrested DCP Abhay Chudasama, the fourth IPS officer held in the case.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Satyam case: CBI questions correctness of NIMS letter
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has found the Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) lacking in giving a correct picture about the health condition of former Satyam Computers chairman B. Ramalinga Raju who continues to abstain from court proceedings of the company.
A special court here which perused a letter received from NIMS where Mr. Raju is undergoing treatment for Hepatitis-C infection on Thursday asked the CBI to explore alternatives to commence the trial in the Satyam Computers fraud since the hospital had stated he could not be shifted from hospital for another four to six weeks. The court directed the CBI to explain on March 18 the legal position as to how the agency wished to go ahead with prosecution under the circumstances.
NIMS authorities informed the court that Mr. Raju required a further four to six weeks to recover from the side effects of treatment. It was not advisable to take him outside the hospital as he ran a high risk of contacting severe infection due to “much below normal white blood corpuscle count.”
The prosecution, however, challenged the correctness of the letter stating that the hospital had recommended six to eight weeks of in-patient treatment for Mr. Raju when he was admitted early December. After three-and-a-half months, an extension of stay was sought with the sole aim to delay the trial.
CBI counsel Balla Ravindranath argued that the health condition of Mr. Raju was not bad as not to shift him to court.
Two charge-sheets
The court which is set to examine all the accused in the case for allegations mentioned against them in two separate charge-sheets also posted for March 18 the petition of Mahindra Satyam (new company) management to unlock record rooms that were sealed by the CBI.
A special court here which perused a letter received from NIMS where Mr. Raju is undergoing treatment for Hepatitis-C infection on Thursday asked the CBI to explore alternatives to commence the trial in the Satyam Computers fraud since the hospital had stated he could not be shifted from hospital for another four to six weeks. The court directed the CBI to explain on March 18 the legal position as to how the agency wished to go ahead with prosecution under the circumstances.
NIMS authorities informed the court that Mr. Raju required a further four to six weeks to recover from the side effects of treatment. It was not advisable to take him outside the hospital as he ran a high risk of contacting severe infection due to “much below normal white blood corpuscle count.”
The prosecution, however, challenged the correctness of the letter stating that the hospital had recommended six to eight weeks of in-patient treatment for Mr. Raju when he was admitted early December. After three-and-a-half months, an extension of stay was sought with the sole aim to delay the trial.
CBI counsel Balla Ravindranath argued that the health condition of Mr. Raju was not bad as not to shift him to court.
Two charge-sheets
The court which is set to examine all the accused in the case for allegations mentioned against them in two separate charge-sheets also posted for March 18 the petition of Mahindra Satyam (new company) management to unlock record rooms that were sealed by the CBI.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Online fraud case: One more held
One more person has been arrested in connection with the online fraud case in which hackers siphoned off more than Rs 25 lakh from a businessman’s account in Tiruchirappalli district of Tamil Nadu.
Crime Branch—CID wing of Tamil Nadu police have approached CBI and Interpol seeking details of users connected to specific Internet service providers (ISPs) of Nigeria, Canada, Israel, Poland and Britain in the case.
B.S. Sainath Reddy, working as an Assistant Vice-President in a multinational bank in Hyderabad, was arrested on March 4. Three persons were arrested earlier in Chennai and Bangalore and the dragnet has been spread for four more persons, a CB-CID release said.
In his complaint, S. Salahudeen, the businessman, had said Rs. 26.55 lakh was fraudulently transferred from his account without his knowledge.
Possibility of identity theft of his online transaction details like user ID through phishing mail or planting key logger software were ruled out, the release said.
The Cyber Crime team scrutinised the server log of victim’s bank pertaining to the transaction and found that the hacker had used computer systems connected to network belonging to ISPs of Nigeria, Canada, Israel, Poland and Britain to siphon off the sum during a particular period of time last year.
“With regard to foreign ISPs, CBI, Interpol assistance has been sought to get the user details for the Internet connection availed by the hacker,” the release said.
Crime Branch—CID wing of Tamil Nadu police have approached CBI and Interpol seeking details of users connected to specific Internet service providers (ISPs) of Nigeria, Canada, Israel, Poland and Britain in the case.
B.S. Sainath Reddy, working as an Assistant Vice-President in a multinational bank in Hyderabad, was arrested on March 4. Three persons were arrested earlier in Chennai and Bangalore and the dragnet has been spread for four more persons, a CB-CID release said.
In his complaint, S. Salahudeen, the businessman, had said Rs. 26.55 lakh was fraudulently transferred from his account without his knowledge.
Possibility of identity theft of his online transaction details like user ID through phishing mail or planting key logger software were ruled out, the release said.
The Cyber Crime team scrutinised the server log of victim’s bank pertaining to the transaction and found that the hacker had used computer systems connected to network belonging to ISPs of Nigeria, Canada, Israel, Poland and Britain to siphon off the sum during a particular period of time last year.
“With regard to foreign ISPs, CBI, Interpol assistance has been sought to get the user details for the Internet connection availed by the hacker,” the release said.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Dera rampage: Tension prevails in Punjab, Haryana
Tension on Sunday prevailed in various parts of Haryana and Punjab, hit by violence following filing of a fresh murder case against the Dera Sacha Sauda chief, as authorities stepped up security measures to restore calm.
Four companies (nearly 400 personnel) of central paramilitary forces have reached Haryana for deployment in the violence-hit areas, including Fatehabad, Sirsa and Ambala, police officials said.
The situation in the affected areas in Punjab, including Moga, Bhatinda and Sangrur districts, was tense but under control, they said.
They said patrolling has been intensified while security has been beefed up at public places like railway stations, bus stations and shopping malls.
There was a report of fire in a bus early this morning in Panipat, though the police maintained that it was not related to the Dera violence.
Resenting the filing of a murder case against Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh by the CBI, sect supporters last evening went on a rampage setting ablaze four trains and around 37 vehicles, including 27 buses, and vandalising property in several places in Punjab and Haryana.
Dera’s chief spokesman Aditya Insaan had said the sect followers were not behind the violence which erupted in Punjab and Haryana after the registration of the fresh case against Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.
Last week, the CBI had booked the Sacha Sauda chief for the murder of sect Manager Faqir Chand in 1991. Besides the sect head, four others were booked by the CBI in the case.
The sect head also faces three other cases including one of sexual exploitation and two of murder of another sect Manager and a Sirsa-based journalist.
The protesters yesterday set afire a compartment each of the Ferozepur-Ludhiana Sutlej Express, the Narwana-Kurukshetra train and two local trains after asking the passengers to disembark. They also vandalised railway property at Tapa, Moga and Kalaiyat in Punjab, he said.
The mobs had torched and damaged 37 vehicles, 27 of them buses, including an air—conditioned one, in Bathinda, Mansa, Talwandi Sabo, Bhagapurana and other places in Punjab and at Kaithal, Sirsa and Fatehabad in Haryana.
In Moga, the protesters had tried to set ablaze the District Administration Complex, housing among others the offices of the Deputy Commissioner and the SSP, prompting police to fire in the air to disperse them.Wednesday, February 3, 2010
1,135 students got jobs in Maharashtra using fake marksheets
A total of 1,135 students have secured jobs submitting fake marksheets after passing out from various universities in Maharashtra, according to a report prepared by the CBI.
The fake marksheet scam came to fore after an investigation by the CBI on the direction of the Bombay High Court on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in 2007.
The PIL had alleged that many of the employees working in government and private sectors had got the job after submitting bogus documents, and sought a probe.
After hearing the PIL, the High Court directed the CBI to investigate the matter. The CBI, on December 26, 2009, wrote to all the Universities in Maharashtra asking for verification of the marksheets.
Verification revealed that 1,135 students from six universities had landed jobs using fake marksheets (obtained between 2001 and 2007), police sources said, quoting the CBI report.
The maximum 729 cases of fake marksheets were identified at Pune University, followed by Mumbai (237), Rashtrasant Tukdoji Maharaj University, Nagpur (92), Shivaji University, Kolhapur (42), Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar University, Aurangabad (18) and Sant Gadgebaba University, Amravati (17).
The CBI will now be submitting the report to the High Court and may seek direction to take action against these students, the sources said.
The fake marksheet scam came to fore after an investigation by the CBI on the direction of the Bombay High Court on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in 2007.
The PIL had alleged that many of the employees working in government and private sectors had got the job after submitting bogus documents, and sought a probe.
After hearing the PIL, the High Court directed the CBI to investigate the matter. The CBI, on December 26, 2009, wrote to all the Universities in Maharashtra asking for verification of the marksheets.
Verification revealed that 1,135 students from six universities had landed jobs using fake marksheets (obtained between 2001 and 2007), police sources said, quoting the CBI report.
The maximum 729 cases of fake marksheets were identified at Pune University, followed by Mumbai (237), Rashtrasant Tukdoji Maharaj University, Nagpur (92), Shivaji University, Kolhapur (42), Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar University, Aurangabad (18) and Sant Gadgebaba University, Amravati (17).
The CBI will now be submitting the report to the High Court and may seek direction to take action against these students, the sources said.
Monday, February 1, 2010
1984 anti-Sikh riots case: Court issues summons against Sajjan
A Delhi Court on Monday issued summons to former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar and others after taking cognisance of the chargesheets filed against them in two cases relating to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Lokesh Kumar Sharma sought presence of the 62-year-old Congress leader and others before the court on February 17.
The magistrate said that after perusing the chargesheets including the statements of the witnesses, prima-facie case of murder, rioting and other offences were made out against the accused.
He, however, declined a plea of CBI and the victim’s counsel to issue non-bailable warrant (NBW) against the accused in view of the gravity of the offences involved.
“In the facts and circumstances, all the accused persons are very much residing in the same locality. There is no complaint of criminal intimidation of any of the witnesses.
“The primary concern of CBI is to ensure the presence of the accused. I do not find any reason to adopt coercive methods to ensure presence of the accused. So the prayer(for NBW) of CBI and the victims is declined,” the court said.
The CBI had on January 13 filed two chargesheets against the former Congress MP and others before the court in two separate cases of allegedly making provocative speeches, leading to the killing of 12 persons in 1984 riots that followed the assassination of Indira Gandhi.
The probe agency had filed the chargesheets in the court after concluding its investigation into the cases registered on the recommendation of Nanavati Commission in 2005.
The cases, in which the chargesheets were filed against Kumar and several others, were registered in police stations in Sultanpuri and Delhi Cantonment following the killing of seven and five persons respectively in the riots.
During the proceedings, senior advocate H. S. Phoolka, counsel for victim Nirpreet Kaur, contended that the court should issue NBW against the accused as there were grave charges against them.
He submitted that when there is an apprehension that accused may tamper with the evidence and influence the witnesses, the court has discretion to issue NBW against them.
Mr. Phoolka also referred two judgements of the High Court to buttress his arguments.
His contention was supported by CBI counsel who submitted that the NBW should be issued against the accused as there was gravity of offence involved in the matter.
The CBI’s plea was, however, countered by the court which asked it why it failed to arrest any of the accused during the investigation of the cases.
“Why did you not arrest any of the accused if there was gravity of offences? Your anxiety is only to secure presence of accused,” the court said.
The court issued summons against all accused except Mahender Yadav and Brahmanand Gupta as their counsel was present to take notice on their behalf.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Lokesh Kumar Sharma sought presence of the 62-year-old Congress leader and others before the court on February 17.
The magistrate said that after perusing the chargesheets including the statements of the witnesses, prima-facie case of murder, rioting and other offences were made out against the accused.
He, however, declined a plea of CBI and the victim’s counsel to issue non-bailable warrant (NBW) against the accused in view of the gravity of the offences involved.
“In the facts and circumstances, all the accused persons are very much residing in the same locality. There is no complaint of criminal intimidation of any of the witnesses.
“The primary concern of CBI is to ensure the presence of the accused. I do not find any reason to adopt coercive methods to ensure presence of the accused. So the prayer(for NBW) of CBI and the victims is declined,” the court said.
The CBI had on January 13 filed two chargesheets against the former Congress MP and others before the court in two separate cases of allegedly making provocative speeches, leading to the killing of 12 persons in 1984 riots that followed the assassination of Indira Gandhi.
The probe agency had filed the chargesheets in the court after concluding its investigation into the cases registered on the recommendation of Nanavati Commission in 2005.
The cases, in which the chargesheets were filed against Kumar and several others, were registered in police stations in Sultanpuri and Delhi Cantonment following the killing of seven and five persons respectively in the riots.
During the proceedings, senior advocate H. S. Phoolka, counsel for victim Nirpreet Kaur, contended that the court should issue NBW against the accused as there were grave charges against them.
He submitted that when there is an apprehension that accused may tamper with the evidence and influence the witnesses, the court has discretion to issue NBW against them.
Mr. Phoolka also referred two judgements of the High Court to buttress his arguments.
His contention was supported by CBI counsel who submitted that the NBW should be issued against the accused as there was gravity of offence involved in the matter.
The CBI’s plea was, however, countered by the court which asked it why it failed to arrest any of the accused during the investigation of the cases.
“Why did you not arrest any of the accused if there was gravity of offences? Your anxiety is only to secure presence of accused,” the court said.
The court issued summons against all accused except Mahender Yadav and Brahmanand Gupta as their counsel was present to take notice on their behalf.
