Disappearing links

With Justice Jain raising a quot;serious doubtquot; about the involvement of Chandraswami in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, the Government would have obviously looked to people like Rowland to prove the allegations. Rowland died a week before the Jain report is tabled in Parliament and now forms part of the fast disappearing trail against Chandraswami.

The trail comprises at least three crucial witnesses who died in theyear Justice Jain and a slew of Indian investigating agencies were amassing evidence against Chandraswami and his associates. The first was the death of Lakhubhai Pathak, London8217;s pickle king8217;, who had filed a case of cheating against Chandraswami and former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao two years ago.

Pathak died on April 1, 1997 also in London but after he had deposed in a New Delhi courtroom and served his purpose as a witness. But it is Justice Jain who has revived the cheating case since he introduces Tiny Rowland in his report as the millionaire who was also quot;involvedquot; in the Lakhubhai Pathak cheating case.

A reading of the final report shows up Rowland as one of Chandraswami8217;s favorite money-laundering machines. The report says that the drafts of 11 million, picked up from Chandraswami8217;s ashram during a raid, had been paid by Khashoggi to Rowland quot;on behalf of Chandraswami.quot; The report states that in early 1998, Rowland admitted to officials of the Central Board of Direct Taxes CBDT, thatdrafts worth 5 million were paid for the purchase of audio tapes which contained conversations quot;relevant to Rowland8217;s business.quot;

The report also mentions a third deceased witness, who if alive, could have been useful in consolidating the charges against Chandraswami. The most vituperative charges quoted against the tantrik came from Ramesh Dayal, a former BJP worker. This includes the links between the godman and the LTTE, since Dayal has given statements about seeing LTTE operatives in Chandraswami8217;s ashram. The report states: quot;It appears that Ramesh Dayal got the information from Rajendra Jain but Rajendra Jain did not appear in the witness box8230; he is now no more.quot;

Rajendra Jain was a former crony of Chandraswami and the same journalist in whose car Uttar Pradesh gangster Babloo Srivastava tried to plant a bomb in July 1991. Jain had given an incriminating affidavit against the activities of Chandraswami, Babloo and several others to the Jain Commission, one of the reasons for their fallingout. However, on January 7 8212; shortly before he was to depose before the Jain Commission 8212; the 45-year-old journalist was found dead in his house. While the police earlier made it out to be a case of suicide, the post-mortem has indicated homicide.

Justice Jain only hints at the mysterious missing witness but there may well be more to Jain8217;s death than what meets the eye. With the death of the other two 8212; Lakhubhai Pathak and now Tiny Rowland 8212; the track which could lead to Chandraswami gets darker than ever before.