Manish Kumar Sinha, the DIG of Anti-Corruption Unit-III (AC-III) and Banking and Securities Fraud Cell (BSFC) of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), has filed an intervening application before the Supreme Court. Sinha is one of three officers part of CBI Director Alok Verma’s team probing bribery charges against Special Director Rakesh Asthana. All three were transferred out of CBI headquarters immediately after the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) issued the order divesting Alok Verma of his powers.
Sinha’s application in the Supreme Court has made several shocking allegations:
Bribe paid to Union Minister of State for Coal and Mines, Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary
Sinha said that when he interviewed Satish Sana — the whistleblower in the bribery case against Rakesh Asthana — Sana admitted to paying a bribe of ‘a few crores’ to Narendra Modi-led government’s minister Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary. The money was paid over a 10-month period, starting from December 2017. Chaudhary is presently a Minister of State for Coal and Mines. Chaudhary is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and represents the Banaskantha constituency of Gujarat.
In exchange, Haribhai Chaudhary, “had intervened with the Senior officers of CBI through the office of the Minister of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension [“MOS (P)”], to whom, apparently, the Director – CBI reports to”. According to MK Sinha, Sana told him that he reportedly paid the bribes because of “fear” and that he was “threatened”.
According to CBI’s sources, MK Sinha claims, “there are calls intercepted by another central agency in first fortnight of June, wherein there is talk between Shri K Laxma Reddy, MLA, Medchal, Hyderabad, and Shri Sana on money being sent to the tune of one or two crores.”
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval involved in a cover-up?
Another shocking revelation is the involvement of National Security Advisor Ajit Doval in the cover-up. MK Sinha’s petition says that after Sana’s statements were recorded and brought on record by the Investigating officer, and on the basis of inputs of CBI Special Cell searches were conducted on October 20, 2018, “at the residence and the office of Shri Devender Kumar, DySP, CBI who was investigating the Moin Qureshi case”. However, CBI Director Alok Verma reportedly received a call from NSA Doval, to stop the search.
Union Law Secretary, Suresh Chandra and Cabinet Secretary, PK Sinha offered ‘full protection’
MK Sinha claims to have become aware that while the proceedings were going on in the CVC against Alok Verma, Sana was repeatedly approached by Rekha Rani, an IAS officer of Andhra Pradesh Cadre, claiming that Suresh Chandra, the Union Law Secretary, wanted to speak to him. Chandra, who claims to have been in London — in a matter related to the Nirav Modi case — at that time, communicated with Sana on WhatsApp on November 8, and told him that cabinet secretary PK Sinha, speaking on behalf on the Union government would offer full protection and “that there will be a drastic change on Tuesday (November 13) and that he (Sana) should meet him (Suresh Chandra) on Wednesday (November 14), that even IB is not able to track his (Sana) movement, that he also tried to communicate the message through one Chamundeshwarnath with whom he met in his London hotel. The call was ended by Sana promising to call him again later in the night.”
Sinha, who had joined Indian Police Service (IPS) 2000 and is from Andhra Pradesh Cadre, joined the CBI five years ago. He is supervising Odisha Chit Fund Scam, Nirav Modi-Mehul Choksi PNB scam.