CBI has arrested five suspects for selling Rajya Sabha seats for Rs 100 crores. On July 22 and 23, the apprehended suspects were brought before the appropriate court in Delhi; they are currently out on bail.
Five people were arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for reportedly promising various individuals Rajya Sabha seats, governorships, and chairmanships of governmental entities in exchange for money. The bureau claims that the defendants changed their aliases, one pretended to be a senior CBI officer, and wanted Rs 100 crore from the victims.
The arrested suspects have been named as Kamlakar Prem Kumar Bandgar from Latur in Maharashtra; Mahendra Pal Arora from Delhi; Abhishek Boora from Ghaziabad; Mohd. Aijaz Khan from Delhi; and Ravindra Vitthal Naik from Belgaum in Karnataka.
The accused allegedly engaged in a criminal conspiracy “with the sole ulterior motive of cheating private persons by falsely assuring them for arrangement of seats in Rajya Sabha, appointment as Governor, appointment as Chairman in different government-run organisations under central government ministries and department against huge pecuniary consideration,” according to the CBI.
The agency searched seven places on Monday in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Karnataka, and they said they found information that was incriminating, including WhatsApp communications and other records.
According to the agency, Abhishek Boora frequently corresponded with Kamlakar Bandgar, with whom he allegedly discussed ways to take advantage of the latter’s relationships with influential government figures who are crucial to such appointments.
Bandgar is accused by the CBI of posing as a senior CBI official and ordering Boora, Arora, Khan, and Naik to bring any kind of work that he could fix in exchange for payment.
According to the CBI, the suspects “often drop names of the senior bureaucrats and political functionaries for impressing upon the client approaching them for some work either directly or through middleman like Abhishek Boora.”
Bandgar, posing as a senior CBI officer, “has been threatening the officers posted in police stations for showing favour to some person known to him, for influencing the investigation of ongoing cases,” according to the CBI.
On July 22 and 23, the apprehended suspects were brought before the appropriate court in Delhi; they are currently out on bail.