New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has finalised its chargesheet in the disproportionate assets case against Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and his family members after its probe found that Rs. 10 crore of ill-gotten assets were allegedly amassed during his stint as the Union Minister.
CBI, which had registered an FIR last year to probe allegations that Singh had allegedly amassed over Rs. 6 crore of disproportionate assets, has concluded that the figure is around Rs. 10 crore, the agency sources claimed on Tuesday.
The agency had initiated an inquiry alleging that as Union Minister during 2009-2012 (UPA rule), Singh had accumulated disproportionate assets worth Rs. 6.03 crore (approx) in his family members' name, CBI had said.
The allegations have been strongly refuted by Singh.
The findings of an year-long probe, which is almost complete, alleges that a complex web of investments, unsecured loans, property and share purchase besides false claims of agriculture income were used to camouflage the assets which were disproportionate to known sources of his income, CBI sources said.
They said the agency will soon move Delhi High Court seeking permission to file the chargesheet in the matter.
A detailed forensic analysis of documents and cyber forensic analysis of the computers of Singh's associates shows an alleged conspiracy in which money was purportedly routed through a complex web of shell companies into real estate investments as well, the sources claimed.
The FIR had named Singh, his wife Pratibha Singh, LIC agent Anand Chauhan and Chunni Lal Chauhan. The allegations have been refuted by Singh.
In a statement, the CBI spokesperson had said it was further alleged that Singh had invested his unaccounted income in LIC policies in his name and in the name of his wife and other family members through a private person by showing the same as agricultural income.
The CBI claimed an MoU was signed between Singh and Chauhan on June 15, 2008 for maintenance of an apple orchard for three years.
Chauhan had deposited Rs. 5 crore (approx) in his own bank account and debited the same through cheques for purchasing various LIC policies in their names, CBI had alleged in FIR.
CBI now claims that Singh's wife Pratibha had given the money in cash to Chauhan to be invested in 11 LIC policies.
Over eight policies worth Rs. 4.4 crore matured from which a property was purchased in Greater Kailash worth over Rs. 5 crore, the sources said.
Another associate of Singh, V Chandrasekhar, had provided Rs. 80 lakh in the property purchase, CBI has now alleged. The probe has found that the MoU was back dated through forgery in the stamp paper after they came to know about CBI probe into their assets, the sources claimed.
They said the investigations show that stamp papers which were used in the MoU were not even printed in 2008 besides the forensic analysis of stamp register shows that name of Anand Chauhan was inserted by overwriting on the stamp purchase register.
It was alleged in the FIR that Singh attempted to legitimise the same as agricultural income by filing revised Income Tax Returns in 2012 showing an increment from Rs 45 lakh, claimed in the ITRs of 2009-10, 2010-11, and 2011-12, to Rs 5.1 core in the revised Returns as earned from sale of apples from Srikhand Orchards to United Apple Associates, Pawanoo.
The probe has now found that the purported claims of Rs. 5.1 crore being agriculture income from the sale of apples grown in Srikhand Orchard in Palampur was also false, the CBI sources alleged.
The agency got the orchard examined by experts of Indian Agriculture Research Institute who in their report said it could not have produced apples worth Rs. 5 crore which were mentioned in the revised income tax returns of Singh, the sources claimed.
