Rs 100 crore Rajya Sabha seat racket: The CBI has named over four accused
A racket promising a Rajya Sabha seat for up to Rs 100 crore has been busted by the Central Bureau of Investigation, people familiar with the matter told NDTV. The central probe agency caught the accused just before money exchanged hands, they said, adding the accused also offered governorship for up to Rs 100 crore.
The Central Bureau of Investigation, or CBI, had been listening to calls via a phone intercept for the last few weeks as they zeroed in on the accused, people with direct knowledge of the matter said, asking not to be identified.
Over four people have been charged by the CBI. Some of them have been identified as Maharashtra resident Karmalakar Premkumar Bandgar, Karnataka resident Ravindra Vithal Naik, and Delhi residents Mahendra Pal Arora and Abhishek Boora.
The accused ran an elaborate racket to cheat people by falsely assuring them they would arrange seats in Rajya Sabha, governorship, or appointment as chairperson of government organisations, ministries and departments, sources said.
"Abhishek Boora conspired with Karmalakar Premkumar Bandgar to use his connections and reach high-level government officials, who could play a pivotal role in such appointments," a person linked to the probe told NDTV, asking not to be identified.
The CBI's First Information Report, or FIR, seen by NDTV, has clear details about how the racket promised a Rajya Sabha seat to cheat people for up to Rs 100 crore.
Mr Bandgar, impersonating as a senior CBI officer, told the other accused including a Mohammed Aijaz Khan to bring in any kind of work that he can fix in return for a huge sum, sources said.
"Karmalakar Premkumar Bandgar, Mahendra Pal Arora, Md. Alaz Khan and Ravindra Vithal Naik often drop names of the senior bureaucrats and political functionaries for impressing upon the client approaching them for some work either directly or through middleman like Abhishek Boora," the CBI FIR states.
"Karmalakar Premkumar Bandgar, falsely personating as senior CBI officer, has been threatening officers posted in police stations for showing favour to some person known to him, for influencing the investigation of ongoing cases," the FIR states.