UP Lokayukta seeks CBI probe against Kushwaha

Holding the former Family Welfare and Mining minister,Babu Singh Kushwaha,prima facie guilty of illegally awarding mining contracts and laundering money

Holding the former Family Welfare and Mining minister,Babu Singh Kushwaha,prima facie guilty of illegally awarding mining contracts and laundering money through his several registered societies,Uttar Pradesh Lokayukta N K Mehrotra,in his report sent to Chief Minister Mayawati on Monday,recommended that an FIR be lodged against him under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and the Prevention of Corruption Act and the matter be investigated by the CBI or the Vigilance.

Mehrotra has asked for the action-taken report in one month. He prepared the joint report on three separate complaints containing similar allegations filed by Arvind Kumar Soni,Shivpujan Singh Kachhwaha and Arun Dev Dwivedi in November last year.

Mehrotra said no procedure was followed while awarding the contracts for mining of stone,red gravel and sand in Mahoba and Banda districts. He found that the advertisements for tenders were published in newspapers unheard of,namely Radical Times,Agnipath and Karmyug,and all the applicants,except the ones who were awarded the contracts,were dummy. He said most contracts were given to Girdharilal Kushwaha,Dilip Kumar Singh and Rahul Singh,all alleged to be Kushwahas aides.

Mehrotra found that the necessary clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests,required for awarding mining contracts of an area more than 5 hectares,was not sought.

He said Kushwaha registered five societies on his and wifes names at Lucknow,Jhansi,Kanpur and Banda and used them for money laundering,as none submitted complete annual balance sheets to the Registrar of Societies and Chit Fund.

Lokayukta said as he does not have the necessary infrastructure to probe into the money laundering,which is also spread outside the state,and so,has asked for a CBI or Vigilance investigation.

The Lokayukta found Kushwaha guilty of using two names,Ram Charan Kushwaha and Babu Singh Kushwaha,and his wife of using,Shivkanya and Sukanya,simultaneously for buying properties. He added that Kushwaha did not file his reply to the allegations of two complaints and the reply submitted by him for one complaint was not signed by him. He said Kushwaha,however,did not deny allegations and said that the matter was pending in the court as a PIL had been filed by one Sabajeet.

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Have been trapped in NRHM scam
Basti (UP): Former BSP minister Babu Singh Kushwaha has alleged that he is being trapped in the NRHM scam as part of a conspiracy hatched by senior bureaucrats. Principal Secretary Fateh Bahadur Singh and Cabinet Secretary Shashank Shekhar have hatched the conspiracy against him,Kushwaha claimed. Threatening to expose certain officials,he said they were wary of his growing clout and hence conspired to trap him. PTI