Enough evidence against Rao, Tiwari, Chandra Swami in St Kitts case: CBI

The Central Bureau of Investigation on Saturday strongly pleaded in a trial court that charges of criminal conspiracy and forgery be framed against former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao, former minister of state K K Tewary, tantrik Chandra Swami and his aide Kailashnath Aggarwal in the St Kitts forgery case.

CBI counsel C Sahay told Additional Sessions Judge Ajit Bharihoke that there was enough evidence to prosecute the accused under section 195 of the Criminal Procedure Code for criminal conspiracy and under section 467 read with 469 for substantive offences committed by forging documents in a bid to malign the image of Janata Dal leader V P Singh.

During the inconclusive reply on framing of charges, which would resume on May 13, the CBI counsel, however, did not provide categorical replies to clarifications sought by the judge.

The case relates to the alleged forging of documents by the accused to show that Ajeya Singh, V P Singh's son, had operated a secret coded account in the First Trust Corporation on St Kitts island during 1986-89 and deposited an amount of $ 21 million, naming the Dal leader as a nominee.

He said there was enough evidence to show that Tewary, then minister of state for external affairs, had obtained on oral instructions Ajeya Singh's passport from the Indian high commission in London for the purpose of forging his signature and Rao, who then was a Cabinet minister, had helped in the attestation of the signature of Trust director George Maclean, who was personally known to the tantrik.

While Chandra Swami was the main operator in the forgery, he also got it published in Arab Times, Sahay said.

Aggarwal had accompanied Enforcement Directorate official A K Nandy from Miami to St Kitts on arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi's private aircraft as part of the conspiracy, he said.