CBI traps Modi's man accepting Rs 10 lakh bribe....Modi-Shivraj rivalry angle in CBI sting

Ganesh Malviya with his Poonam Rai Photo: The Hindu

TNN | Mar 30, 2014, BHOPAL: In a big embarrassment to BJP's prime ministerial candidate the CBI on Saturday arrested Ganesh Malviya, the co-convener of Narendra Modi's election cell. He was caught along with his wife, Poonam Rai, deputy commissioner of income tax, while accepting a bribe of Rs 10 lakh. 

When CBI laid a trap for Malviya, the agency, ironically, was acting on a complaint of another state BJP leader, Rajesh Bhadoria, convener of cultural cell of the state BJP unit. 

Malviya's wife, an IRS officer, had allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 25 lakh from Bhadoria, who also owns Ramayan Constructions, to correct discrepancies in his firm's I-T returns, a CBI official said. 

CBI seized around Rs 2.5 lakh in cash, gold and diamond jewellery and keys of four bank lockers from the residence of the Malviya couple. They were produced before special court on Saturday which remanded them to CBI custody till April 1. 

The arrests heated up the political firmament in Madhya Pradesh with the Opposition jumping into the fray. Some experts also called it a fallout of the factional war raging within BJP. On Saturday, Congress lodged a complaint with Election Commission, seeking an inquiry into the bribery episode. "This is how Narendra Modi's men are collecting funds for election. We demand a probe into the sources of BJP's poll funds," said J P Dhanopia, Congress spokesperson. 

(File) Narendra Modi with Ganesh Malviya.

Leader of Opposition Satyadev Katare said, "Modi talks about a corruption-free India while his own man is asking his party colleague to cough up a bribe of Rs 25 lakh. I demand an explanation from both Modi and Shivraj. This shows the scale of corruption in Madhya Pradesh, where even party members are not spared. It's shocking that a member of BJP's culture cell had to get member of the party's national cell arrested".

Modi-Shivraj rivalry angle in CBI sting

P. Naveen, TNN , Mar 29, 2014, BHOPAL: At a time when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is busy firefighting rebellion within its ranks almost on a daily basis, the party's spokespersons would be hard-pressed to put a positive spin on the latest sordid drama of infighting emerging from Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh. 

When the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) trapped a woman deputy commissioner of income tax Poonam Rai and her husband Ganesh Malviya in Bhopal on Saturday, the talk of Narendra Modi v/s Shivraj Singh Chauhan rivalry acquired a whole new political dimension because of the affiliations of the key actors involved in the entire drama. 

Malviya is the co-convenor of BJP's prime ministerial candidate's election cell. On the other hand, the complainant, Rajesh Bhadoria, is the convenor of the cultural cell of the MP BJP unit. 

Poonam Rai, a deputy commissioner of Income Tax department, and her husband Ganesh Malaviya were apprehended in Bhopal last night, said CBI sources. The IRS officer had allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 25 lakh from the owner of Ramayan Constructions to correct discrepancies in the company's I-T returns, they said. 

On a complaint from the builder, the central agency laid a trap and caught Sanjay Raut, who works with Malaviya and had taken Rs 10 lakh from the developer as part of the bribe money, from Preetam Chotrani, a chartered accountant (CA) in M P Nagar area. 

CBI team accompanied Raut to Malaviya's residence, from where the BJP leader was apprehended. The team then questioned Rai till 9 am and later put her under arrest, the sources said. 

The couple has a four-month old daughter. CBI has also seized around Rs 2.5 lakhs in cash, gold and diamond jewelleries and keys of four bank lockers from the residence of IRS officer and her husband. 

All four were produced before special court on Saturday which remanded them to CBI's custody till April 1. "This is the India Narendra Modi is dreaming about where a co-covenor in BJP's national cell asks a BJP's state convenor to pay a bribe of Rs 25 lakh that too at the building of BJP headquarters. Let Modi and Shivraj give an explanation on this situation," leader of opposition Sathyadev Katare told TOI. This also shows the scale of corruption where not even party members are spared, he alleged adding "member of a state cell man had to get member of national cell arrested". 

Congress also said that Malviya was in contacted with several BJP leaders. "Malviya was a personal secretary of Vikram Verma when the latter was Union cabinet minister of youth affairs and sports. Poonam Rai was Verma's paying guest at that time," said Katare.