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CBI registers case over 'forged' letter on A-I divestment

A day after an uproar in the Lok Sabha over a letter purportedly written by the cabinet secretary to the Prime Minister's Office opposing Air-India divestment, the CBI on Friday night registered a regular case to trace the source of the allegedly forged letter.

The CBI registered a forgery case after the additional secretary in the cabinet secretariat referred the case to the agency for a thorough investigation after the cabinet secretary denied having written any such letter, the agency sources said.

They said that the case registered under section 466 of Indian Penal Code is being probed by the Special Investigating Unit of the agency.

The sources said investigating unit would ascertain who could be the source of the letter which is alleged to have been forged.

Under the section 466, whosoever forges a court record or a public document purported to having been issued by a public servant in his official capacity shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend up to seven years and shall also be liable to fine.

The government had on Thursday announced in the Lok Sabha that it would institute a CBI inquiry into the 'forged' letter from the cabinet secretary on the controversial divestment in Air-India.

Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi may be questioned

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

The announcement was made by Divestment Minister Arun Shourie during a brief intervention in the special discussion on divestment.

Shourie's statement came hours after Congress leader P R Dasmunshi quoted from the letter reportedly written by the cabinet secretary to the Prime Minister's Office on the issue and initially expressed his readiness to authenticate it.

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.

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