CBI turns heat on Virbhadra in Rs 6.1cr DA case

NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation on Thursday initiated a probe against Congress veteran Virbhadra Singh and his family members for allegedly acquiring disproportionate assets during his stint as Union steel minister in the UPA government between 2009 and 2011.
CBI says Singh, his wife Pratibha, son Singh and daughter Aparajita acquired disproportionate assets worth Rs 6.1 crore, which was illegal and more than his known sources of income.Singh and his family allegedly invested this money in LIC policies through an insurance agent, Anand Chauhan, showing it as agricultural income.
The CBI probe against Singh comes a day after the agency registered an FIR against another Congressman and former Union minister in UPA Shankersinh Vaghela for alleged irregularities in Rs 709-crore National Textiles Corporation land scam. Some believe the agency’s decision to initiate action against two former UPA ministers in two days may create a political storm in coming days.
After a preliminary enquiry (PE) was launched on Thursday, Virbhadra Singh said in a statement that “he and his family members were being targeted out of political vendetta”. He said the CBI was being manipulated by NDA government on behest of former Himachal chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal. He added that he had faced session trial twice and came out clear in all the cases which were intentionally filed against him out of frustration by the BJP.

CBI sources say that PE registered on Thursday is an offshoot of a 2013 probe against Singh.
Last year, CBI had questioned Virbhadra Singh in a related corruption case in State Trading Corporation (STC). It was alleged that STC had paid bribes to large number of people including one mentioned as ‘VBS’ in a dairy. CBI had registered a PE in October 2013 in the matter and had even questioned Virbhadra Singh in the matter. The matter is presently pending in Delhi high court. The agency had virtually given a clean chit to Singh in its affidavit in the Delhi high court saying it has “not found any evidence for registering an RC (regular case)” in its probe into charges of corruption against him. However, the agency said the “income tax department can go ahead with issues related to it” and that it would register an FIR, if the court so ordered.
The CBI’s 2013 PE was on a complaint by STC asking it to probe payments made to its officials by private companies. Later, noted lawyer Prashant Bhushan wrote to the CBI chief and filed a petition in the Delhi high court, alleging that several documents like income tax returns and affidavits filed during nomination pointed to the Congress leader’s “dubious transactions” and investments involving large sums of money when he was a central minister.
It was alleged that Singh filed I-T returns for assessment year 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12 showing agricultural income of Rs 7,35,000, Rs 15,00,000 and Rs 25,00,000 respectively, which is exempt under the Income Tax Act. “In 2012, in order to explain the unaccounted money, Singh filed revised I-T returns for assessment year 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12 showing an 18 to 30-fold increase of agricultural income in the three years. The total increase in agricultural income amounted to Rs 6.10 crore,” Bhushan said in his petition last year.
“The said income (Rs 6.10 crore) of the revised ITR was allegedly earned through agricultural income at Srikhand Apple Orchards in Rampur, Shimla. LIC agent Anand Chauhan was given the charge to manage the orchards at a commission of 2%. The orchard did not have that kind of production that it can generate an income of Rs 6.10 crore in three years,” said a CBI official on Thursday.