Chidambaram files a frivolous petition through benami against the ED officer probing Aircel-Maxis scam

Weeks after Supreme Court’s 2G Bench had given stern directions to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to finish the Aircel-Maxis scam in six months[1], the former Finance Minister P Chidambaram is up to his tricks again. Perhaps seeing that the carefully constructed blocks are being destroyed, Chidambaram has come out with benami frivolous petitions to malign the Investigating Officers. Chidambaram has used the services of a notorious fixer Upendra Rai, a former journalist who worked with the tainted Sahara and Tehelka to file a frivolous complaint against ED’s Investigating Officer Rajeshwar Singh.

Chidambaram’s carefully constructed facade of credibility and probity collapsed after the raid led by Rajeshwar Singh in December 2015 at son Karit’s firms in connection with Aircel-Maxis scam…

In 2011 also, Chidambaram and gang had used the services of Upendra Rai and he (Rai) faced Contempt charges from the Supreme Court. This uncouth gang had started targeting Singh after he summoned controversial lobbyist Niira Radia in October 2010. Upendra Rai was working with Sahara Group as Chief Editor at that time and he and Sahara owner Subrata Rai had faced Contempt Charges from Supreme Court and to save his skin Subrata Rai had given advertisements in the newspaper that he and his group had no links with Upendra Rai and his brother.

Chidambaram was trying his level best to remove non-pliable and honest officer Rajeshwar Singh from the ED and the evil designs of Chidambaram and his cronies failed due to the repeated intervention of the main petitioner and BJP leader Subramanian Swamy. Chidambaram and cronies have been blocking Rajeshwar Singh’s promotions at each stage for the past seven years by using frivolous complaints or anonymous complaints filed by the blackmailer gang of Upendra Rai.

Chidambaram’s carefully constructed facade of credibility and probity collapsed after the raid led by Rajeshwar Singh in December 2015 at son Karit’s firms in connection with Aircel-Maxis scam unearthed a treasure trove of illegal deals. This joint raid along with Chennai’s Income Tax unit has exposed Chidambaram family’s illegal assets in 14 countries and 21 undeclared foreign bank accounts[2]. This raid also exposed the INX Media scam[3]. Chidambaram has been baying for the blood of Rajeshwar Singh for a long time.

With Rs.1200 crores, who needs a Govt. job?

This time, a week after the Bench headed Justice Arun Mishra on March 23 ordered CBI and ED to finish the probe against Aircel-Maxis scam within six months, all of a sudden Upendra Rai filed a petition to Supreme Court accusing that Rajeshwar Singh is a corrupt officer and alleging that he and his family are having assets of over Rs.1200 crores! This appeared like a cut and paste of a similar complaint that was filed by Upendra Rai and gang in 2011 and got slammed by the apex court. Hope this time the apex court would take a serious note of this frivolous petition and agencies would take seriously about this benami petitioner.

Who is Upendra Rai?

Upendra Rai claiming to be born in 1982 was Editor in the tainted Sahara Group and Tehelka Magazine. Though he is not a part of any recognised media organisation, somehow he is showing his Press Information Bureau’s (PIB) Accreditation Card to enter into all key Government Officers. He is also showing highly sensitive Airport Entry Pass (AEP) issued by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) in all Airports. The Intelligence agencies have found that he is claiming to be a Charter Flight company Director to obtain this sensitive airport entry card. It is a mystery as to how he obtained a PIB Card meant only for a journalist! This shows the unholy relationship Rai enjoys with uncouth persons embedded in the system.

Upendra Rai is a permanent fixture, seen often in the North Block and the South Block.

According to several CBI officers, for the past two years, Upendra Rai’s name is in the Undesirable Contact Men (UCM) list prepared by the agency. This list is a caution list for government officers to avoid contacts with the persons named in the list. Normally fixers and brokers are named in this list. This again raises the question as to how a person in UCM list obtained a PIB Journalist Card and an Airport Entry Card.

Despite Contempt charges being slapped by the SC on Sahara Group in 2011, the agencies have found that the group had paid Rs.6.1 crores to Upendra Rai during 2017-18. But Subrata Rai claims in the Apex Court that he has no money!

This notorious fixer, now acting as a pawn of Chidambaram, is living in a Bungalow worth Rs 30 crores in South Delhi (C-24, Greater Kailash–I, New Delhi). Upendra Rai is already on the radar of many agencies for money laundering through hawala channels operated by him and through shell companies which have been incorporated for the same purpose. One such glaring example is that of M/s Deskjet Computech Solutions, Delhi which has paid Rs.3.8 crores to M/s Upendra Rai and Associates in March 2016. Did this company convert his cash into cheque? Is this a case in hand for the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to be invoked? It is also necessary that the CBI investigates this transaction from the Prevention of Corruption Act as to who made these payments and for what? He has several high-end cars. How did a person claiming to be a journalist who is just 36 years old accumulate such assets?

Informed sources have conveyed to PGurus that Upendra Rai has been proactively using / engaging many bureaucrats in Finance Ministry and Income Tax on his payroll to effectively extort money from the Corporate world in the pretext of Income Tax or CBI raids. Upendra Rai is very close to Sonia Gandhi’s close aide Ahmed Patel.

Now Chidambaram has used his benami, Upendra Rai, to file a frivolous petition to sabotage the Aircel-Maxis probe and to intimidate the honest Investigating Officer Rajeshwar Singh.  It is high time the CBI probed the dirty deals of Upendra Rai.

References:

[1] SC slams CBI and ED. Directs to finish the investigation in Aircel-Maxis case in six months – Mar 12, 2018, PGurus.com

[2] Subramanian Swamy exposes 21 secret foreign bank accounts of Karti Chidambaram – Feb 20, 2018, PGurus.com

[3] Indrani, the key witness against Chidambaram and son poisoned in jail. Who is behind it? Attempts to eliminate her? Apr 9, 2018, PGurus.com

• Author
• Recent Posts

Team PGurus

We are a team of focused individuals with expertise in at least one of the following fields viz. Journalism, Technology, Economics, Politics, Sports & Business. We are factual, accurate and unbiased.

Latest posts by Team PGurus (see all)

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi: A Gujju businessman who does not invest his precious time for a losing battle - April 13, 2024
• NIA arrests two accused Shazib and Taahaa in Bengaluru’s Rameshwaram Cafe blast case from Kolkata - April 12, 2024
• National Herald scam: Adjudicating Authority upholds Rs.752 crore assets attached by ED - April 11, 2024