Lalhming Liana of the Mizo National Front, Brajesh Pathak of the BSP and D Bandhopadhyay of the TMC (left to right) (Photo: PTI)
New Delhi: The CBI’s investigation of the Leave Travel Concession (LTC) scam on Friday reached the doorstep of the Trinamul with the agency booking the party’s Rajya Sabha MP D. Bandopadhyay for allegedly claiming travel reimbursements through purportedly forged bills.
The Trinamul already facing the heat of the multi-crore Saradha chit-fund scam, claimed Mr Bandopa-dhyay was “innocent” and that the LTC scam was a racket run by corrupt travel agencies.
The party condemned the CBI action against Mr Bandopadhyay, saying the agency was being used by the NDA government in a political vendetta against the Opposition parties.
The CBI also booked two others sitting MPs, Brajesh Pathak of the BSP and Lalhming Liana of the Mizo National Front, along with unknown travel agents in the case registered on Friday.
Former Rajya Sabha members J.P.N. Singh (BJP), Mahmood A. Madani (RLD) and Renu Pradhan (BJD), too, have been named as accused in the fresh FIRs.
The CBI has so far registered seven FIRs in the LTC scam.
In the first FIR, registered in November 2013, it had booked JD(U) Rajya Sabha MP Anil Kumar Sahani for allegedly siphoning off around Rs 9.5 lakh by presenting fake air tickets and boarding passes.
Immediately after registering fresh FIRs on Friday, CBI sleuths conducted searches at 10 locations in Delhi and Odisha, including the premises of politicians and some travel agents.
Reacting sharply, Trinamul spokesperson Derek O’Brien, in a statement issued here, said, “We strongly condemn this attitude of using the CBI with the motive of political vendetta against the main Opposition parties. In a democratic set-up, this is just not done.”
