Forensics gets back: Taj file was fudged by Secy, Minister

The Taj corridor case has taken another serious turn with forensic experts confirming that forgery and fraud were allegedly committed by Uni...

The Taj corridor case has taken another serious turn with forensic experts confirming that forgery and fraud were allegedly committed by Union Environment Secretary K C Mishra and Uttar Pradesh8217;s former Environment Minister Nasimuddin Siddiqui.

This report of the Central Forensic Science Laboratory CFSL was among the documents submitted by the CBI to the Supreme Court today. Though the apex court did not discuss this aspect of the case during today8217;s hearing, a criminal case under provisions of the Indian Penal Code can now be booked against the indicted.

Probe where Rs 17 cr
went: SC tells CBI

The SC gave a week to the CBI to report on the assets of the four persons8212;their names kept confidential8212;allegedly involved in the Taj project. After scanning a 700-page report of the CBI, a bench comprising Justice M B Shah and Justice Ar Lakshmanan directed the agency to pursue the trail of the Rs 17 crore paid so far and 8216;8216;find out as to where it has gone, how it has been spent and who have benefited from it.8217;8217;

Without this element, as reported in The Indian Express earlier, the CBI8217;s Taj case may have been restricted to provisions of the Criminal Procedures Code.

Besides Mishra and Siddiqui, the CFSL has ascertained that Rajendra Prasad, an Under Secretary in the Department of Environment in Lucknow also fudged files related to the controversial project.

Incidentally, it was the Supreme Court which had directed the CBI on August 21 to seek CFSL8217;s advice to confirm suspicion of fudging and interpolations in files.

Along with the original noting of the Minister and bureaucrats, CBI had submitted samples of their handwriting to strengthen their case.

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It now transpires that initially, Environment Secretary K C Mishra had overruled objections made by Joint Secretary C Vishwanath for the violations being made as the Agra project progressed.

Later, as part of an alleged cover-up, Mishra noted down 8216;8216;objections8217;8217; in his writing. The CFSL confirmed that these notations were made at a later date.

This is exactly what Siddiqui is also said to have done Lucknow.On May 21, he was sent a request to clear the release of Rs 20 crore as the second instalment to be paid to NPCC for the corridor project. This file had originated with Under Secretary Rajendra Prasad.

When the controversy became public, Siddiqui recalled the file and added a query to the effect of 8216;8216;how was the Rs 17 crore released?8217;8217;

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This reference was to the first instalment paid to the NPCC.

The CFSL also confirmed that similar interpolations were made by Rajendra Prasad as part of the systematic cover-up that went on in the corridors of power in Lucknow.

Ritu Sarin

Ritu Sarin is Executive Editor (News and Investigations) at The Indian Express group. Her areas of specialisation include internal security, money laundering and corruption. Sarin is one of India’s most renowned reporters and has a career in journalism of over four decades. She is a member of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) since 1999 and since early 2023, a member of its Board of Directors. She has also been a founder member of the ICIJ Network Committee (INC). She has, to begin with, alone, and later led teams which have worked on ICIJ’s Offshore Leaks, Swiss Leaks, the Pulitzer Prize winning Panama Papers, Paradise Papers, Implant Files, Fincen Files, Pandora Papers, the Uber Files and Deforestation Inc. She has conducted investigative journalism workshops and addressed investigative journalism conferences with a specialisation on collaborative journalism in several countries. ... Read More