When will the government decide to question Ahmed Patel in the Sterling Biotech scam?
With the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arresting Anup Garg, the ex-Director of Andhra Bank in the Sterling Biotech Rs.5000 crore loan fraud case, shock waves have started spreading and are expected to reach Congress leader Ahmed Patel, who is a known supporter of this Gujarat based firm. Ahmed Patel’s son–in–law Irfan Siddiqui’s role in bribing Income Tax officers was also mentioned in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)’s First Information Report (FIR)[1] and ED’s FIR also.
The question is when will the CBI and ED officers be allowed by the Government to question Ahmed Patel, the trusted man of the just-retired Congress President Sonia Gandhi?
ED has already charge sheeted the Delhi based property dealer turned business tycoon Gagan Dhawan[2], another confidante of Ahmed Patel in the case.
Vadodara based Sterling Biotech and its holding firm Sandesara Group was caught for bribing many top officials and politicians. CBI’s Special Director Rakesh Asthana’s name was also found in the payout diaries of the company[3]. Asthana was the then Police Commissioner of Surat and the diary entries showed that Asthana had accepted around Rs.3.88 crores in 2011 alone from the tainted company. His son was also a staffer at the Sterling Biotech.
The payout diaries recovered from Sterling Biotech – Sandesara Group companies exposes one thing. The top bureaucrats and police officers from Gujarat mentioned in the dairy were maintaining good relations with BJP leaders as well as Ahmed Patel, the Congress heavyweight from the state. Like Asthana, many officers’ homes were given on namesake rental to the tainted company to facilitate monthly payouts.
The dubious activities of the company were caught by the Income Tax Department in 2011. But the Income Tax team which was conducting the raids was asked to withdraw within hours, having had their ears burnt from the firing they got from their bosses in Delhi. But some honest officers managed to take out the payout diaries while retreating from the Ahmed Patel supported tainted firm. CBI and ED’s charge sheets expose how the many PSU Banks consortium led by Andhra Bank was forced to give thousands of crores to Sterling Biotech which led to a Non-Performing Asset (NPA) tally of more than Rs.5000 crores.
The question is when will the CBI and ED officers be allowed by the Government to question Ahmed Patel, the trusted man of the just-retired Congress President Sonia Gandhi? Another question is with Rakesh Asthana in CBI, how credible will be the actions of the agency against the Sterling Biotech.
References:
[1] CBI FIR names son-in-law of Ahmed Patel (Irfan) of bribing Income Tax officials – Sep 25, 2017, PGurus.com
[2] ED files charge sheet against tycoon Gagan Dhawan in Rs.5000 cr PMLA case – Dec 23, 2017, Business Standard
[3] Son of Asthana worked at Sterling Biotech, daughter’s marriage party at Sterling farmhouse, accuses Prashant Bhushan – Nov 22, 2017, PGurus.com
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Sir, this is bank related fraud, how come a state cm aware of all these things,
चोर चोर मौसेरे भाई भारत का दुर्भाग्य है कि राजनीति की इस काली कोठरी से इतने महान इमानदार लोग निकल कर देश समाज को कुतर कुतर कुतर कर खा रहे हैं ।थोडा भी मोरल करेकटर कहीं नजर नहीं आता। तमाशा देख रहे जनता के लोग यातो ताली बजाते हैं या फिर इन कलयुगी कलाकारों को गाली देकर इतिश्री कर लेते हैं!
मेरा भारत महान
I would be surprised if Modi does not, eventually, give Ahmed Patel a Padm Vi Bhushan, CBI and ED? India has ensured that there is not a single reliable instittuion in more than six decades of reservations and corruption that flow from the bizare casteist, communalist Constitution.
If the govt contemplates to take any action against patel,congress will release its party goons to create problems any where in India including parliament
Manmohan was the main culprit in the COALGATE - making the maximum number of dubious allotments. But he was not even interrogated - leave alone Charge sheet. Lesser mortals are in Jail today
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Chidambaram is the writer, director & playback singer of 2G. He is still roaming free writing sermons in yellow journals. But only those who received the TIPS were, albeit unsuccessfully chargesheeted.
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Pawars & Bhujbal looted Maharashtra dry for over a decade. 1 trillion spent on Water & Irrigation projects, the situation even today is people are forced to halt long-distance trains en-route for a potful of water
Pawar is a national awardee.
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'Guiding policy' behind Modi's 'War on corruption' is - Forget the 'gang-leaders'. Arraign the 'lower ruffians'.
You are absolutely correct sir. The Sterling scam happened while Modi was CM of Gujarat! We would be suckers to believe that he wasn't aware of the goings on!
If people in CBI and othe departments of Gujrat government were equally inimical to the wrong doings of Congis and BJP alike, there is no hope of justice seeing the light of the day. God help the country! No wonder so many cases raked up by Swamy are getting bogged down in inquiries and poor prosecution
No wonder. In any mafia regime every institution and law enforcement agency would be enslaved. The days when the strong doors that should be knocked are not far away.The million dollar question is: How soon? We are in 2018. 2019 is also not far away.