Search the Internet          Tips  Sites: Finance, Investment

CBI seeks documents on A-I divestment

With the issue of the letter purportedly written by the cabinet secretary to Prime Minister's Office opposing Air-India's divestment getting murkier, the Central Bureau of Investigation has sought certain documents from some ministries and offices on the divestment of the international flag carrier of the country.

CBI sources said these documents will help the agency to ascertain whether any letter on the issue was written by cabinet secretary T R Prasad to principal secretary in PMO.

They said the documents had been sent to Central Forensic and Scientific Laboratory alongwith the letter, read out in the Lok Sabha by Congress leader Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi, to ascertain its genuineness.

The CBI registered a forgery case on August 24 after additional secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat referred the case to the agency for a thorough investigation following the cabinet secretary's disclaimer that he had written the letter.

The case has been registered under Section 466 and 471 of Indian Penal Code and the probe is being done by the Special Investigating Unit of the agency.

The government had, last week, announced in the Lok Sabha that it would institute a CBI inquiry into the "forged" letter from the Cabinet Secretary on the controversial divestment of Air-India.

The CBI sources said the agency, after getting a report from CFSL, would chalk out its next course of action and in case the letter was found to be forged, a probe would be launched to find the persons behind the forgery.

The CBI sources did not rule out the possibility of questioning Congress leader Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi in connection with the case.

The issue cropped up after Dasmunsi, during his speech, accused the government of giving away prime PSUs like Air-India to companies whose affiliates, he claimed, were being investigated for alleged FERA violations worth over $300 million.

Immediately after he finished reading out the letter, purportedly written by Prasad, Divestment Minister Arun Shourie asserted that the letter was forged.

Tell us what you think of this report