I am sure all of us must have seen block buster film Page 3…and being part of Media fraternity, I can say that story was absolutely true…lot of time reports are removed from front page of the newspaper or from the News Run down of the News Channel…
Though it does not happen all the time but in some special cases it does happen…like what we saw in Page 3…how Big Business man was caught red handed by News Paper reporter but the story could not make the headline for obvious reasons…link with top brass of the News paper…
Today I will tell you a real story of a reporter working with Indian number one English News channel, who tried reporting on same issue…
“Sodomy of young boys by top brass of a one of the oldest orphanage in Capital of this country…. ‘Bal Sahyog’
Bal Sahyog…a Social Welfare Organization founded by late Smt. Indira Gandhi in 1954 with a view to make the underprivileged children of Delhi mainly from JJ clusters and also the poor children who run away from their homes and loiters around Railway Stations and other places in Delhi self reliant by providing them Vocational Training with School Education.
September’ 10 2006, an email from Bal Sahyog complaining of corruption charges, Sexual Harassment and Mental Torture by the Director of Bal Sahyog came to Editor of Special Investigative Team of this News Channel, and this email was further forwarded to a young fiery reporter of the team and reporter was told to Investigate this email and to cull out the truth behind this email…
Reporter responded to this anonyms email and requested to provide more information regarding the same issue as the allegations are very serious. On September 12 2006 this response came from same email address…
Hi Sidharth Dated; September, 12 2006’,
Thanks for your e-mail. Kindly give your mobile no. so that we will call you and will provide you the copies of all the concerned documents. In fact , when the Director came to know that we had approached media then in order to divide the staff he gave out of turn increment to Ms. Madhu Srivastava and S.P.Sharma. Therefore, they will not provide any information rather praise the Director.
Bal Sahyog has six contact clubs at Kotla Mubarakpur, Wajirpur, Paharganj Nangloi, Karolbagh, Inderpuri etc. The Director made Madhu Srivastav Cordinator of these contact clubs and also in-charge of Day Care Centre. That's why she didn't provide you any information when you spoken to her.
Bal Sahyog also gets grant of around Rs. 8-10 lakhs from Ministry of Social Welfare, Govt. of Delhi by showing 300 kids at these contact clubs. But when you will visit these centres without informing them you will hardly find 3-4 children at these centres and no activities are being carried out. The Director has been making lot of money from these centres .This is also to be investigated. And Madhu Srivastava is party with the Director in these activities.
If possible, you come to Bal Sahyog this Saturday. (Names deleted to hide the identity whistle blower) will provide you more information.
Or you can call (Name Deleted to hide the identity of source) at 011-23411995, 23411273 without telling to the person who takes the call that you were from media. She would provide you all the details.
In fact, most of the staff are scared in discussing with media in the campus.
You can discuss these with Kake Da Hotel, Tewari Broths, Raj Cool Centres about the activities of Director of Bal Sahyog. These shops are just located outside the Gate of Bal Sahyog. And they are also victim of highhandedness of the Director.
This response from Staff of Bal Sahyog became the strong base for the Investigation, as these people were desperate to blow the whistle and expose wrong doings of the Director…few days later reporter met people who wrote this mail and had a detailed chat on the issue, their claims were very convincing rather reporter was told by one of the woman present in the meeting that Director Bal Sahyog misbehaved with them at many occasions and they are scared of meeting him alone even in his office in Bal Sahyog…
Reporter started meeting these people everyday and get more and more information about Bal Sahyog and find out what is the truth…after Investigating for two Months, reporter got to know that Director of Bal Sahyog is also Director in one more orphanage ‘Karm Marg’ and he started parallel Investigation on Karm Marg, he found out that there were same allegation on Director by some girls who took shelter in Karm-Marg.
Now, the allegation of sexual harassment on Director Bal Sahyog ‘Devender Sethi’ turned out to be truth, as few girls who were in their mid 20ties and were part of Karm Marg at some point in time when they were in their teens gave their On-Cam testimony to me, narrating how were told to sit on the Lap of Devender Sethi and were shown Blue-film and through out the show they were touched all over…
These girls were so young that they didn’t even knew that they were been harassed by mentally ill man…
During this Investigation when reporter was trying to hear more voices from the girls who have gone through this pain in their teens…he met Sunita (name changed) smack addict, at the bank of New Delhi Railway station, where all the rag-pickers do smack…Sunita (name changed) was also one of the Victim of Devender Sethi when she was living in Karm-Marg and even she had same story to tell…reporter was almost in tears after talking to her. When reporter met Sunita (name changed) she was almost counting her life backwards as she was literally living on smack, she spoke to him in length (on-cam)
Fact of the matter is, these children, who end up being soft targets of child abuse, live in children's homes.
Bal Sahyog, a home for juvenile boys in Delhi, is one such cesspool of abuse.
Sachin (name changed) who ran away from Bal Sahyog told reporter that they are been treated as animal by staff of Bal Sahyog, he was in tears remembering how he was beaten up badly and was locked in the room for hours by the staff member of Bal Sahyog, when somebody took his name for some mischief after which he left Bal Sahyog leaving one letter behind that he can not take it any more…these days Sachin (name changed) works as a rag picker at New Delhi Railway Station and doesn’t want to go back to Bal Sahyog.
Sachin (name changed) was not the only boy who ran away from Bal Sahyog, there is a letter from the Child Welfare Committee to the Director of Bal Sahyog which shows that five to seven children who were brought to Bal Sahyog in May 2006 were missing. And Sachin (name changed) was one of the boy who this reporter tracked down.However, the director of Bal Sahyog, Devendre, shrugs it off the claim. And He said, “There are two gates. Wo bachcha kabhi bhi slip ho kay bahar nikal gaya. (Children ran away as there are two gates in the home.)”Children living at Bal Sahyog are often victims of other form of abuse as well. Raju (name changed) who stays in Bal Sahyog told reporter, older inmates sodomizing younger boys and the children are also falling prey to substance abuse. The administration however, is just not bothered.
After such hard-hitting detail reporter went back to his Editor and filed the story, which came in to controversy even before it was put on air…as Director Bal Sahyog Devender Sethi got whiff that, this reporter has got countless proof of his sexual harassment and before story went on air, fleet of Page 3 people entered office of this English News Channel and straight away had a tea with top honchos of News Channel and after long meeting blame was put on the reporter and top brass was convinced that its baseless report and Devender Sethi is a man with lot of respect regardless of all the testimonies this reporter got from the field…
And channel took decision to remove the story from web site of the channel and instruction were given not to play this story ever again…nobody asked reporter what is his take and what are his findings…
Devender Sethi, was removed from the designation of Director from Bal Sahyog, people say that he has left Delhi after that story…but the reporter who covered this story is still living with the pain of how he became victim of powerful Page 3 people…
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Golden Tree … ‘Sonagachi’
“Oye chalta kya’… “Ek baar dekh toh lo sir…Dekhne ka koi paisa nahi hai”… “Idhar Dekh Idhar’…
This is how Sex Workers of Sonagachi welcomes you…as you walk though those narrow alleys, thousands of females standing facing each-other, leaving little walking space for customer…trying there best to lure customer, behind them you will see small ‘apartments’ and corner stores form a confusing maze...these buildings lean into the street, the roads are crowded with customers of all strata from rickshaw puller to office goers to first timers who are barely in their teens. You will find touts with there belly about to fall from their body all around the place making sure that customers are not leaving there Kotha unattended.
Moment you enter Sonagachi you will see more than 10,000 women’s standing on the road side calling you from the roof top…waving you from the window and as you walk deeper in to the place you will see countless women close by you, barely dressed, with bold make up, Red lipstick, short skirt, long heels sandal, some are smoking some are smiling at you…some of them might pull your cheek, hold your collar, might even hug you…the sight is unbelievable. No man would want to see this side of women.
Sex in Sonagachi can be had for as little as 10 Rupees and as expensive as 10,000, you can choose to have it in a small dingy, unhygienic room or you can even have it with all the luxuries from Air-Condition to expensive liquor and soft bed.
Scars on the faces of most of the women’s are clearly visible and if you see properly you can also find lines on the arms, old cuts and I even saw faces of many women’s were battered. These scars and cuts narrate the horrifying tale of torture that each woman has gone through in Sonagachi while they were trafficked from Nepal, Bangladesh, Jharkhand and Bihar…
My thirst to expose the network of Trafficking of Underage girls brought to this sin city…I was chasing my advance team who were moving inside Sonagachi along with one male and female pimp, these Delhi based pimps promised my team to show some underage virgin girls who we will capture in our handy cam to show our fictitious NRI boss sitting in Delhi and if he likes any one of these minor virgins…then selected girl will be trafficked from Kolkata to Delhi by these pimps…
But after witnessing such unbelievable sight, i was shattered and was full of regrets that why did I come to this place?
Countless thoughts were going in my mind while I was chasing my team, I was physically present in those narrow lanes but mentally I was trying to answer countless questions that were coming to mind after seeing such a painful sight and suddenly I realized that I had lost track of my team and found myself standing right in the middle road but It was too late as I had no idea which room my team entered and without giving second thought I rushed back to main road where my cameraman was waiting for me…
Suddenly somebody pulled my hand and trying to pull me inside those dingy apartment, I was scared and had no idea how to stop her…she was smiling and was talking in Bengali, suddenly something stuck to my mind and I told her that I just had it…! and I am not in a mood to go for second one…she instantly loosened her grip with smile on her face and asked for a cigarette, which I gave…I had to travel quite a distance before i reach my cab, but now I knew what to tell if caught.
Moment i reached my car, i narrated whole story to my cameraman…
I told my cameraman that we have to go again to the same location in hunt of our team members and this time i told him that he has to accompany me…he smiled and accepted my offer. He got down from the car, combed his hair, tucked his shirt properly, I could see bait is getting ready to get slaughtered in the butcher market, and I was right moment we reached that spot, girls started pulling his cheek, trying to kiss him, he was surrounded by the touts in blue Lungi…some how we managed to escape but could not find our team members.
Few hours later my advance team came back with smile of success on their face…after all job of Journalist is chase story not emotion. They came sat in the car and for couple of hours there was pin drop silence in the car…every one was in a state of shock, and with lots of question in their mind.
One of my team member told me that Melinda Gates, the wife of the world’s richest man, has been to Sonagachi and she left 200 Million $US in India to fight AIDS…I smiled and said Melinda Gates thinks that India’s pop stars and cricket players will change the nation’s perception on HIV but i guess she is wrong.
I know the fight for the women of Sonagachi will continue and so does the trade of new girls to the area. No one has yet suggested going after the clients, the pimps or the police.
Few days after this trip story went On-Air, and people liked it, but most of us have no idea of the pain which these girls hide underneath their smiles…
Can we really do something?
This is how Sex Workers of Sonagachi welcomes you…as you walk though those narrow alleys, thousands of females standing facing each-other, leaving little walking space for customer…trying there best to lure customer, behind them you will see small ‘apartments’ and corner stores form a confusing maze...these buildings lean into the street, the roads are crowded with customers of all strata from rickshaw puller to office goers to first timers who are barely in their teens. You will find touts with there belly about to fall from their body all around the place making sure that customers are not leaving there Kotha unattended.
Moment you enter Sonagachi you will see more than 10,000 women’s standing on the road side calling you from the roof top…waving you from the window and as you walk deeper in to the place you will see countless women close by you, barely dressed, with bold make up, Red lipstick, short skirt, long heels sandal, some are smoking some are smiling at you…some of them might pull your cheek, hold your collar, might even hug you…the sight is unbelievable. No man would want to see this side of women.
Sex in Sonagachi can be had for as little as 10 Rupees and as expensive as 10,000, you can choose to have it in a small dingy, unhygienic room or you can even have it with all the luxuries from Air-Condition to expensive liquor and soft bed.
Scars on the faces of most of the women’s are clearly visible and if you see properly you can also find lines on the arms, old cuts and I even saw faces of many women’s were battered. These scars and cuts narrate the horrifying tale of torture that each woman has gone through in Sonagachi while they were trafficked from Nepal, Bangladesh, Jharkhand and Bihar…
My thirst to expose the network of Trafficking of Underage girls brought to this sin city…I was chasing my advance team who were moving inside Sonagachi along with one male and female pimp, these Delhi based pimps promised my team to show some underage virgin girls who we will capture in our handy cam to show our fictitious NRI boss sitting in Delhi and if he likes any one of these minor virgins…then selected girl will be trafficked from Kolkata to Delhi by these pimps…
But after witnessing such unbelievable sight, i was shattered and was full of regrets that why did I come to this place?
Countless thoughts were going in my mind while I was chasing my team, I was physically present in those narrow lanes but mentally I was trying to answer countless questions that were coming to mind after seeing such a painful sight and suddenly I realized that I had lost track of my team and found myself standing right in the middle road but It was too late as I had no idea which room my team entered and without giving second thought I rushed back to main road where my cameraman was waiting for me…
Suddenly somebody pulled my hand and trying to pull me inside those dingy apartment, I was scared and had no idea how to stop her…she was smiling and was talking in Bengali, suddenly something stuck to my mind and I told her that I just had it…! and I am not in a mood to go for second one…she instantly loosened her grip with smile on her face and asked for a cigarette, which I gave…I had to travel quite a distance before i reach my cab, but now I knew what to tell if caught.
Moment i reached my car, i narrated whole story to my cameraman…
I told my cameraman that we have to go again to the same location in hunt of our team members and this time i told him that he has to accompany me…he smiled and accepted my offer. He got down from the car, combed his hair, tucked his shirt properly, I could see bait is getting ready to get slaughtered in the butcher market, and I was right moment we reached that spot, girls started pulling his cheek, trying to kiss him, he was surrounded by the touts in blue Lungi…some how we managed to escape but could not find our team members.
Few hours later my advance team came back with smile of success on their face…after all job of Journalist is chase story not emotion. They came sat in the car and for couple of hours there was pin drop silence in the car…every one was in a state of shock, and with lots of question in their mind.
One of my team member told me that Melinda Gates, the wife of the world’s richest man, has been to Sonagachi and she left 200 Million $US in India to fight AIDS…I smiled and said Melinda Gates thinks that India’s pop stars and cricket players will change the nation’s perception on HIV but i guess she is wrong.
I know the fight for the women of Sonagachi will continue and so does the trade of new girls to the area. No one has yet suggested going after the clients, the pimps or the police.
Few days after this trip story went On-Air, and people liked it, but most of us have no idea of the pain which these girls hide underneath their smiles…
Can we really do something?
Rs 3,600 cr, the size of NAFED scam
Congress General Secretary, Ambika Soni, has called for an investigation into the NAFED expose by CNN-IBN Special Investigation Team.
Soni says that there should be complete transparency in government workings.
On Monday, CNN-IBN Special Investigation Team exposed how NAFED diverted Rs 3,600 crore of taxpayers' money to import petroleum products and minerals.
The National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) was set up by the Government of India on October 2, 1958, to promote co-operative marketing of agricultural produce for the benefit of Indian farmers.
A major part of the funds, meant for the advantage of poor Indian farmers, have been diverted to private firms
Moreover, a large part of this money in turn has been borrowed by NAFED from banks, which one of the confidential document shows, it is yet to repay.
The Union Bank Of India gave NAFED Rs 300 crore, Vijaya Bank Rs 150 Crore while UCO Bank, IndusInd and Bank of Maharashtra each loaned the organisation Rs 140 crore. Several other prominent banks also loaned huge sums of money.
The Banks that sanctioned loans to NAFED
Bank
Money Loaned
Union Bank Of India
Rs 300.73 crore
Vijaya Bank
Rs 149.68 crore
United Commercial Bank
Rs 138.47 crore
IndsInd Bank
Rs 137.40 crore
Bank Of Maharastra
Rs 137.40 crore
Allahabad Bank
Rs 92.96 crore
HDFC Bank
Rs 78.12 crore
ICICI Bank
Rs 36.10 crore
State Bank Of Indore
Rs 49.49 crore
Punjab National Bank
Rs 99.03 crore
State Bank Of Patiala
Rs 49.87 crore
Exhibit One: A Memorandum of Understanding signed between Rital Impex and the additional managing director of NAFED, Homi Rajvansh. Rital Impex secured a loan of Rs 75 crore from NAFED in 2004. Rs 52 crore are still outstanding.
The investigation also revealed the deep-rooted corruption in the Government-owned cooperative.
In Lok Sabha the question on the diversion Rs of 3,600 crore was raised in July 2004.
Agriculture Minister of State Kanti Lal Bhuria had categorically denied any such corruption within the NAFED then.
But CNN-IBN's evidence proves that Kanti Lal Bhuria was not correct.
This Memorandum Of Understanding between NAFED and Earthtech enterprises is specifically about the import of petroleum products.
When CNN-IBN tried to find out why NAFED gave loans to private companies, the trail led straight to the offices of Whitewood Pvt Ltd in South Delhi.
Whitewood Pvt Ltd is owned by Manish Aggarwal, son of O P Aggarwal. Incidentally O P Aggarwal owns Earthtech, the company that secured loans from NAFED to import petroleum products.
His employees argued that they work for M K International and not for Whitewood or Earthtech. After that they attacked the CNN-IBN team.
But our team finally persuaded Manish to give his version.
CNN-IBN: You own Whitewood Pvt Ltd?
Manish Aggarwal: Absolutely.
CNN-IBN: People are saying Whitewood is owned by your father O P Aggarwal.
Manish Aggarwal: No it's my company. Nothing has been issued to me from anywhere.
CNN-IBN: There are stories that your father has been involved in some of the issues of NAFED
and his companies have been blacklisted. Are you in any way linked in any financial issues with your father?
Manish Aggarwal: Well, he is my father and I am his son. But as far as business and finances go, we are not related at all.
However, this photocopy of a bounced cheque worth Rs 82 lakhs is a giveaway. Despite disowning his father this signature shows that Manish is an authorized signatory of Earthtech.
Moreover, CNN-IBN Special Investigation Team discovered that the Additional Managing Director of NAFED, Homi Rajvansh, who has signed several dubious deals with private firms, drives a sleek Ford Endeavour (DL 3C AJ 3567), which is registered in the name of Whitewood Private Limited.
Rs 3,600 crore — this huge sum of the taxpayers’ money is the size of corruption within NAFED.
Soni says that there should be complete transparency in government workings.
On Monday, CNN-IBN Special Investigation Team exposed how NAFED diverted Rs 3,600 crore of taxpayers' money to import petroleum products and minerals.
The National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) was set up by the Government of India on October 2, 1958, to promote co-operative marketing of agricultural produce for the benefit of Indian farmers.
A major part of the funds, meant for the advantage of poor Indian farmers, have been diverted to private firms
Moreover, a large part of this money in turn has been borrowed by NAFED from banks, which one of the confidential document shows, it is yet to repay.
The Union Bank Of India gave NAFED Rs 300 crore, Vijaya Bank Rs 150 Crore while UCO Bank, IndusInd and Bank of Maharashtra each loaned the organisation Rs 140 crore. Several other prominent banks also loaned huge sums of money.
The Banks that sanctioned loans to NAFED
Bank
Money Loaned
Union Bank Of India
Rs 300.73 crore
Vijaya Bank
Rs 149.68 crore
United Commercial Bank
Rs 138.47 crore
IndsInd Bank
Rs 137.40 crore
Bank Of Maharastra
Rs 137.40 crore
Allahabad Bank
Rs 92.96 crore
HDFC Bank
Rs 78.12 crore
ICICI Bank
Rs 36.10 crore
State Bank Of Indore
Rs 49.49 crore
Punjab National Bank
Rs 99.03 crore
State Bank Of Patiala
Rs 49.87 crore
Exhibit One: A Memorandum of Understanding signed between Rital Impex and the additional managing director of NAFED, Homi Rajvansh. Rital Impex secured a loan of Rs 75 crore from NAFED in 2004. Rs 52 crore are still outstanding.
The investigation also revealed the deep-rooted corruption in the Government-owned cooperative.
In Lok Sabha the question on the diversion Rs of 3,600 crore was raised in July 2004.
Agriculture Minister of State Kanti Lal Bhuria had categorically denied any such corruption within the NAFED then.
But CNN-IBN's evidence proves that Kanti Lal Bhuria was not correct.
This Memorandum Of Understanding between NAFED and Earthtech enterprises is specifically about the import of petroleum products.
When CNN-IBN tried to find out why NAFED gave loans to private companies, the trail led straight to the offices of Whitewood Pvt Ltd in South Delhi.
Whitewood Pvt Ltd is owned by Manish Aggarwal, son of O P Aggarwal. Incidentally O P Aggarwal owns Earthtech, the company that secured loans from NAFED to import petroleum products.
His employees argued that they work for M K International and not for Whitewood or Earthtech. After that they attacked the CNN-IBN team.
But our team finally persuaded Manish to give his version.
CNN-IBN: You own Whitewood Pvt Ltd?
Manish Aggarwal: Absolutely.
CNN-IBN: People are saying Whitewood is owned by your father O P Aggarwal.
Manish Aggarwal: No it's my company. Nothing has been issued to me from anywhere.
CNN-IBN: There are stories that your father has been involved in some of the issues of NAFED
and his companies have been blacklisted. Are you in any way linked in any financial issues with your father?
Manish Aggarwal: Well, he is my father and I am his son. But as far as business and finances go, we are not related at all.
However, this photocopy of a bounced cheque worth Rs 82 lakhs is a giveaway. Despite disowning his father this signature shows that Manish is an authorized signatory of Earthtech.
Moreover, CNN-IBN Special Investigation Team discovered that the Additional Managing Director of NAFED, Homi Rajvansh, who has signed several dubious deals with private firms, drives a sleek Ford Endeavour (DL 3C AJ 3567), which is registered in the name of Whitewood Private Limited.
Rs 3,600 crore — this huge sum of the taxpayers’ money is the size of corruption within NAFED.
NAFED siphoned off farmers' fund
CNN-IBN Special Investigation Team exposes how NAFED diverted Rs 3,600 crore of taxpayers' money to import petroleum products and minerals. They also take a look at how deep-rooted corruption is in the Government-owned cooperative.
In Lok Sabha the question on the diversion Rs of 3,600 crore was raised in July 2004.
Agriculture Minister of State Kanti Lal Bhuria had categorically denied any such corruption within the NAFED then.
But the CNN-IBN has evidence that proves that Agriculture Minister of State Kanti Lal Bhuria was not correct.
This Memorandum Of Understanding between NAFED and Earthtech enterprises is specifically about the import of petroleum products.
When CNN-IBN tried to find out why NAFED gave loans to private companies, the trail led straight to the offices of Whitewood Pvt Ltd in South Delhi.
Whitewood Pvt Ltd is owned by Manish Aggarwal, son of O P Aggarwal. Incidentally O P Aggarwal owns Earthtech, the company that secured loans from NAFED to import petroleum products.
His employees argued that they work for M K International and not for Whitewood or Earthtech. After that they attacked the CNN-IBN team.
But our team finally persuaded Manish to give his version.
CNN-IBN: You own Whitewood Pvt Ltd?
Manish Aggarwal: Absolutely.
CNN-IBN: People are saying Whitewood is owned by your father O P Aggarwal.
Manish Aggarwal: No it's my company. Nothing has been issued to me from anywhere.
CNN-IBN: There are stories that your father has been involved in some of the issues of NAFED and his companies have been blacklisted. Are you in any way linked in any financial issues with your father?
Manish Aggarwal: Well, he is my father and I am his son. But as far as business and finances go, we are not related at all.
However, this photocopy of a bounced cheque worth Rs 82 lakhs is a giveaway. Despite disowning his father this signature shows that Manish is an authorized signatory of Earthtech.
Moreover, CNN-IBN Special Investigation Team discovered that the Additional Managing Director of NAFED, Homi Rajvansh, who has signed several dubious deals with private firms, drives a sleek Ford Endeavour (DL 3C AJ 3567), which is registered in the name of Whitewood Private Limited.
Rs 3,600 crore — this huge sum of the taxpayers’ money is the size of corruption within NAFED.
In Lok Sabha the question on the diversion Rs of 3,600 crore was raised in July 2004.
Agriculture Minister of State Kanti Lal Bhuria had categorically denied any such corruption within the NAFED then.
But the CNN-IBN has evidence that proves that Agriculture Minister of State Kanti Lal Bhuria was not correct.
This Memorandum Of Understanding between NAFED and Earthtech enterprises is specifically about the import of petroleum products.
When CNN-IBN tried to find out why NAFED gave loans to private companies, the trail led straight to the offices of Whitewood Pvt Ltd in South Delhi.
Whitewood Pvt Ltd is owned by Manish Aggarwal, son of O P Aggarwal. Incidentally O P Aggarwal owns Earthtech, the company that secured loans from NAFED to import petroleum products.
His employees argued that they work for M K International and not for Whitewood or Earthtech. After that they attacked the CNN-IBN team.
But our team finally persuaded Manish to give his version.
CNN-IBN: You own Whitewood Pvt Ltd?
Manish Aggarwal: Absolutely.
CNN-IBN: People are saying Whitewood is owned by your father O P Aggarwal.
Manish Aggarwal: No it's my company. Nothing has been issued to me from anywhere.
CNN-IBN: There are stories that your father has been involved in some of the issues of NAFED and his companies have been blacklisted. Are you in any way linked in any financial issues with your father?
Manish Aggarwal: Well, he is my father and I am his son. But as far as business and finances go, we are not related at all.
However, this photocopy of a bounced cheque worth Rs 82 lakhs is a giveaway. Despite disowning his father this signature shows that Manish is an authorized signatory of Earthtech.
Moreover, CNN-IBN Special Investigation Team discovered that the Additional Managing Director of NAFED, Homi Rajvansh, who has signed several dubious deals with private firms, drives a sleek Ford Endeavour (DL 3C AJ 3567), which is registered in the name of Whitewood Private Limited.
Rs 3,600 crore — this huge sum of the taxpayers’ money is the size of corruption within NAFED.
Organ-ised Capital crime
Sikander Ali is a poor man surviving on one kidney. All he wanted was a job - any job. He was not one of those who cry in despair. Today, this 26-year-old just can't hold back his tears.
Sikander is one of many unfortunate victims of a commercial kidney transplant racket, which has its tentacles spread far and wide - from Delhi to Amritsar and far beyond.
"They've made a mockery of my life," Sikander, a construction worker, says referring to the people who conspired to get his kidney removed.
Every year, lakhs of people come to the national capital from all over the country looking for job. Sikander Ali also left his village in Hapur in search of a better life. Little did he know that he would be rendered incapable of even supporting himself.
"I would much rather wish that they would have killed me rather than leaving me in this condition. I would have been really thankful to them," says Sikander.
Sikander's target of angst is Sushil Arya, a rich businessman who lives in Lawrence Road in the capital.
Sikander says Arya picked him from the labour chowk at Fatehpuri and offered him a job as a foreman. As a pre-requisite for getting the job, he was asked to undergo a medical test. On that pretext, he was taken to Amritsar where he alleges his kidney was removed.
"It was his wife who told me that they have cheated on me and taken out one of my kidneys. I was just stunned. I asked them 'what is a kidney'."
When contacted, Sushil Arya's wife Aarti refused to talk to CNN-IBN. Since then Sikander has been frequenting the National Human Rights Commission office, a place where thousands of people like him come in search of justice.
When CNN-IBN team accompanied Sikander to NHRC to check the status of the case, it was found out that Sikander's case had been enmeshed in the red tape for the last four years.
"I had come to Delhi thinking that Delhi's legal system is bigger and better. I thought Delhi police is efficient and I will get justice," Sikander regrets.
A chargesheet normally does not take more than three months. But in Sikander's case, even after two-and-a-half years, the police are yet to act.
Police say it's a case of missing documents. "We will finalise it very soon. Within a month's time. It has been delayed for the want of certain documents," a police official reasoned.
In 2001, a kidney sale scam was busted in Amritsar in which five doctors - Dr P K Sareen, Dr P K Jain, Dr O P Mahajan, Dr Bhupinder Singh and Dr Bhushan Aggarwal - were arrested. Among the nearly 2,200 recipients of commercial organ transplants in this case was Sushil Arya.
When CNN-IBN's Special Investigation Team went to meet Arya, he was bed-ridden, surviving because of Sikander's kidney.
"I want that they bring me back to my original health," demands Sikander.
As his fight for justice drags on, Sikander's case has again brought to focus the illicit trade in human organs and the inefficient law-enforcement system in the country to fight this menace.
(Urvashi Sibal and Sidhartha Gautam in Delhi)
Sikander is one of many unfortunate victims of a commercial kidney transplant racket, which has its tentacles spread far and wide - from Delhi to Amritsar and far beyond.
"They've made a mockery of my life," Sikander, a construction worker, says referring to the people who conspired to get his kidney removed.
Every year, lakhs of people come to the national capital from all over the country looking for job. Sikander Ali also left his village in Hapur in search of a better life. Little did he know that he would be rendered incapable of even supporting himself.
"I would much rather wish that they would have killed me rather than leaving me in this condition. I would have been really thankful to them," says Sikander.
Sikander's target of angst is Sushil Arya, a rich businessman who lives in Lawrence Road in the capital.
Sikander says Arya picked him from the labour chowk at Fatehpuri and offered him a job as a foreman. As a pre-requisite for getting the job, he was asked to undergo a medical test. On that pretext, he was taken to Amritsar where he alleges his kidney was removed.
"It was his wife who told me that they have cheated on me and taken out one of my kidneys. I was just stunned. I asked them 'what is a kidney'."
When contacted, Sushil Arya's wife Aarti refused to talk to CNN-IBN. Since then Sikander has been frequenting the National Human Rights Commission office, a place where thousands of people like him come in search of justice.
When CNN-IBN team accompanied Sikander to NHRC to check the status of the case, it was found out that Sikander's case had been enmeshed in the red tape for the last four years.
"I had come to Delhi thinking that Delhi's legal system is bigger and better. I thought Delhi police is efficient and I will get justice," Sikander regrets.
A chargesheet normally does not take more than three months. But in Sikander's case, even after two-and-a-half years, the police are yet to act.
Police say it's a case of missing documents. "We will finalise it very soon. Within a month's time. It has been delayed for the want of certain documents," a police official reasoned.
In 2001, a kidney sale scam was busted in Amritsar in which five doctors - Dr P K Sareen, Dr P K Jain, Dr O P Mahajan, Dr Bhupinder Singh and Dr Bhushan Aggarwal - were arrested. Among the nearly 2,200 recipients of commercial organ transplants in this case was Sushil Arya.
When CNN-IBN's Special Investigation Team went to meet Arya, he was bed-ridden, surviving because of Sikander's kidney.
"I want that they bring me back to my original health," demands Sikander.
As his fight for justice drags on, Sikander's case has again brought to focus the illicit trade in human organs and the inefficient law-enforcement system in the country to fight this menace.
(Urvashi Sibal and Sidhartha Gautam in Delhi)
Northeast subsidies go up in smoke
Even as the Finance Ministry proposes to withdraw grants to Indian Institutes of Management, Indian Institutes of Technology and Kendriya Vidyalayas, it is still giving subsidies to the tobacco companies operating from the Northeast.
The tobacco industry in the Northeast is flourishing and many factories have mushroomed in Assam since 1999 after the NDA government announced a tax-free policy on goods manufactured in the region with the objective of spurring industrial development.
However, the move backfired when instead of big industries, tobacco companies like the DS
Group hijacked the policy to set up packaging units in the region.
Documents available with CNN-IBN show how the DS Group took advantage of the tax-free policy to claim subsidies amounting to the tune of Rs 298.54 crore in the last five years. The Government has given subsidies to the tune of Rs 1500 crore to the tobacco industry in the last five years.
As if that was not enough, the tobacco industry is now looking up to Finance Minister P Chidambaram to announce further tax-free incentives to further their trade in the region.
"We have a large variety of products, basically Rajnigandha, Tulsi brand items and Catch brand items. Both the Central and state governments are trying to give incentives and we are hopeful in the next Budget also, incentives will be given to Northeast," Assam Unit Manager, of the DS Group, Brig (Retd) M Kumar says.
Tobacco industries contribute more than nine per cent of the total Central Excise revenue every year and shifting of production base to the Northeast gives them a complete duty exemption under the policy.
The modus operandi
This is how the Excise refund process functions. Tobacco companies set up packaging units in the Northeast and transport finished products to the units elsewhere in the country.
Contract labourers working at these units simply pack the materials and the tobacco products are then distributed all over the country.
The tobacco industry in the Northeast is flourishing and many factories have mushroomed in Assam since 1999 after the NDA government announced a tax-free policy on goods manufactured in the region with the objective of spurring industrial development.
However, the move backfired when instead of big industries, tobacco companies like the DS
Group hijacked the policy to set up packaging units in the region.
Documents available with CNN-IBN show how the DS Group took advantage of the tax-free policy to claim subsidies amounting to the tune of Rs 298.54 crore in the last five years. The Government has given subsidies to the tune of Rs 1500 crore to the tobacco industry in the last five years.
As if that was not enough, the tobacco industry is now looking up to Finance Minister P Chidambaram to announce further tax-free incentives to further their trade in the region.
"We have a large variety of products, basically Rajnigandha, Tulsi brand items and Catch brand items. Both the Central and state governments are trying to give incentives and we are hopeful in the next Budget also, incentives will be given to Northeast," Assam Unit Manager, of the DS Group, Brig (Retd) M Kumar says.
Tobacco industries contribute more than nine per cent of the total Central Excise revenue every year and shifting of production base to the Northeast gives them a complete duty exemption under the policy.
The modus operandi
This is how the Excise refund process functions. Tobacco companies set up packaging units in the Northeast and transport finished products to the units elsewhere in the country.
Contract labourers working at these units simply pack the materials and the tobacco products are then distributed all over the country.
MTNL's mystery U-turn on quality check
As key details of a Rs 460-crore scam in an MTNL-Motorola deal for purchase of GSM equipment for the Dolphin mobile network tumble out, documentary evidence has revealed that MTNL relaxed key contract conditions to favour the multinational firm and top MTNL officials even misled the Prime Minister's Office in an effort to cover up this wrong-doing.
Documentary evidence available with CNN-IBN's Special Investigation Team suggest that some MTNL officials actually 'allowed' Motorola to dupe the Navratna PSU of hundreds of crore of rupees.
One piece of evidence available with CNN-IBN is a certification, dated 1994, which was provided by Motorola for the equipment it supplied to MTNL. Minutes of an MTNL meeting later in April, 2004, chaired by RSP Sinha, the head of MTNL Delhi, show that MTNL had then found these old tests 'unacceptable'.
But five months later, MTNL took a U-turn on this and exempted Motorola's 'imported equipment' from inspection.
The manner in which MTNL waived off the inspection clause going against its own reservation in the past about the 'old tests' used by the firm to certify its equipment clearly suggests that the process was no above board and it was followed with the sole objective of favouring Motorola and its sub-vendor, a Chinese company called Huawei, in the deal.
In fact, an interim report submitted by a committee of four senior MTNL managers in January 2005 had listed serious problems in the GSM technology supplied by Motorola.
Some of the problems listed in the report were:
Validation for coverage, including service quality, is yet to be offered.
The Closed User Group feature between technologies is not working.
WAP, MMS and GPRS have not been offered.
The post-paid to pre-paid subscriptions conversion test is not offered.
CNN-IBN also learnt that had MTNL tested Motorola's equipment and noted any shortfall, Motorola would have had to 'ensure coverage' at its own cost. MTNL didn't do that, instead it awarded the multinational firm an extra Rs 138-crore contract for network expansion.
RSP Sinha, the head of MTNL Delhi, clearly has a number of questions to answer on this entire exercise. But he chose not to talk to CNN-IBN. This can also be construed as an indication of his involvement in the multi-crore-rupee scam.
The ultimate casualty of this whole episode has been the Dolphin user, for whom problems like call drops, poor connectivity, poor coverage, one-way communication and voice breaks are the sad truths in times of GRPS and other high-utility cellular facilities.
Documentary evidence available with CNN-IBN's Special Investigation Team suggest that some MTNL officials actually 'allowed' Motorola to dupe the Navratna PSU of hundreds of crore of rupees.
One piece of evidence available with CNN-IBN is a certification, dated 1994, which was provided by Motorola for the equipment it supplied to MTNL. Minutes of an MTNL meeting later in April, 2004, chaired by RSP Sinha, the head of MTNL Delhi, show that MTNL had then found these old tests 'unacceptable'.
But five months later, MTNL took a U-turn on this and exempted Motorola's 'imported equipment' from inspection.
The manner in which MTNL waived off the inspection clause going against its own reservation in the past about the 'old tests' used by the firm to certify its equipment clearly suggests that the process was no above board and it was followed with the sole objective of favouring Motorola and its sub-vendor, a Chinese company called Huawei, in the deal.
In fact, an interim report submitted by a committee of four senior MTNL managers in January 2005 had listed serious problems in the GSM technology supplied by Motorola.
Some of the problems listed in the report were:
Validation for coverage, including service quality, is yet to be offered.
The Closed User Group feature between technologies is not working.
WAP, MMS and GPRS have not been offered.
The post-paid to pre-paid subscriptions conversion test is not offered.
CNN-IBN also learnt that had MTNL tested Motorola's equipment and noted any shortfall, Motorola would have had to 'ensure coverage' at its own cost. MTNL didn't do that, instead it awarded the multinational firm an extra Rs 138-crore contract for network expansion.
RSP Sinha, the head of MTNL Delhi, clearly has a number of questions to answer on this entire exercise. But he chose not to talk to CNN-IBN. This can also be construed as an indication of his involvement in the multi-crore-rupee scam.
The ultimate casualty of this whole episode has been the Dolphin user, for whom problems like call drops, poor connectivity, poor coverage, one-way communication and voice breaks are the sad truths in times of GRPS and other high-utility cellular facilities.
MTNL deal rings in Rs 450-cr scam
Alarm bells first rang way back in September 2004 about foul play in a Rs 460-crore deal between Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited and Motorola for the purchase of GSM equipment for MTNL's Dolphin mobile network.
Two years later, CNN-IBN's Special Investigation Team has unearthed key details of a Rs 460 crore scam with documentary evidence revealing how MTNL relaxed key tender conditions to favour the multinational firm in the deal.
On top of it, investigations have also revealed that MTNL even misled the Prime Minister's Office on this issue in its attempt to cover up the scam.
Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited is a cash-rich Navratna PSU serving India's biggest metros.
MTNL has 19 lakh Dolphin users across Delhi and Mumbai. But when it comes to services, it is in the shambles now and this has something to do with the MTNL-Motorola deal.
In January 2004, Motorola won a Rs 466-crore MTNL contract to supply GSM equipment to serve 8 lakh Dolphin users. Deliveries followed, but so did complaints that Motorola was violating the contract.
In September 2004, RJD MP Sita Ram Yadav first alleged irregularities in the contract. In response to allegations, the PMO directed the Department of Telecommunication to do cross-check on the same. J S Sarma, then Additional Secretary in the DoT, sought comments from RSP Sinha, CMD, MTNL Delhi.
MTNL did reply. In its response, it said no relaxation of any mandatory clauses had been given in the tender. The equipment was inducted in MTNL network after thorough testing. MTNL sent its response in December 2004.
Now, documents available with CNN-IBN show that MTNL did relax the mandatory condition of the order three months before they responded to the PMO and that the PMO was misled on at least two crucial points.
In two key clauses, the imported equipment, which implies equipment supplied by Motorola, is exempted from inspection.
MTNL also told the PMO that validation tests were in progress and that tests conducted on various sub-systems had not indicated any major deficiencies.
But an interim report submitted by senior MTNL officials in January 2005 listed a number of crucial tests, which had actually not been conducted.
Meanwhile, Motorola has already received 80 per cent of its Rs 466-crore deal. When contacted MTNL's CMD RSP Sinha refused to comment.
It's a Rs 400 crore scam at the very least and documents do hint at the involvement of top officials of MTNL in this scam.
Two years later, CNN-IBN's Special Investigation Team has unearthed key details of a Rs 460 crore scam with documentary evidence revealing how MTNL relaxed key tender conditions to favour the multinational firm in the deal.
On top of it, investigations have also revealed that MTNL even misled the Prime Minister's Office on this issue in its attempt to cover up the scam.
Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited is a cash-rich Navratna PSU serving India's biggest metros.
MTNL has 19 lakh Dolphin users across Delhi and Mumbai. But when it comes to services, it is in the shambles now and this has something to do with the MTNL-Motorola deal.
In January 2004, Motorola won a Rs 466-crore MTNL contract to supply GSM equipment to serve 8 lakh Dolphin users. Deliveries followed, but so did complaints that Motorola was violating the contract.
In September 2004, RJD MP Sita Ram Yadav first alleged irregularities in the contract. In response to allegations, the PMO directed the Department of Telecommunication to do cross-check on the same. J S Sarma, then Additional Secretary in the DoT, sought comments from RSP Sinha, CMD, MTNL Delhi.
MTNL did reply. In its response, it said no relaxation of any mandatory clauses had been given in the tender. The equipment was inducted in MTNL network after thorough testing. MTNL sent its response in December 2004.
Now, documents available with CNN-IBN show that MTNL did relax the mandatory condition of the order three months before they responded to the PMO and that the PMO was misled on at least two crucial points.
In two key clauses, the imported equipment, which implies equipment supplied by Motorola, is exempted from inspection.
MTNL also told the PMO that validation tests were in progress and that tests conducted on various sub-systems had not indicated any major deficiencies.
But an interim report submitted by senior MTNL officials in January 2005 listed a number of crucial tests, which had actually not been conducted.
Meanwhile, Motorola has already received 80 per cent of its Rs 466-crore deal. When contacted MTNL's CMD RSP Sinha refused to comment.
It's a Rs 400 crore scam at the very least and documents do hint at the involvement of top officials of MTNL in this scam.
Police, film pirates hand in glove
On Thursday, CNN-IBN's Special Investigation Team had exposed how ow the trade of piracy is flourishing in the heart of the Capital - Pallika Bazaar.
After the expose, the team followed up another exclusive and exposed how those meant to police and prevent piracy are in fact a part of the well-oiled racket.
The team had earlier exposed Jasbir Gill, one of the biggest operators of the piracy business in Delhi.
Based on a tip off given to them by the Anti-Piracy Cell of the Delhi Police, police officials of the District Investigation Unit (DIU) agreed to raid Jasbir Gill's residence.
However, there was a hitch.
Senior Inspector DIU, Arvind Sharma, agreed to conduct a raid only after accepting a bribe from the Anti-Piracy Cell.
He even claimed that some senior police officials were aware of the fact that he accepted bribes, implying that a share of the money reached them as well.
After taking the money from the Anti-Piracy Cell, Sharma and his plain clothes men raided Jasbir Gill's basement at his residence where they seized boxes stacked to the ceiling full of DVD's.
However, sometime later, the FIR and seizure memo told a shockingly different story.
The seizure memo mentions just a few foreign films, 40 Hindi pornographic films and 25 inlay cards.
There was no mention of the lakhs of DVDs that the Special Investigation Team saw and captured on the hidden camera or the 22 CD writers used to make pirated CDs.
Why was the FIR manipulated?
This conversation between Jasbir Gill and Arvind Sharma, all caught on a hidden camera makes things clear.
Jasbir Singh to Arvind Sharma: "Police officials come to Pallika Bazaar everyday but I have a deal with them and I have never been arrested. My daughter is getting married on May 27, I will come after that and give you Rs two-three lakh."
The copy of the FIR, which is in the Special Investigation Team's possession is an example of the cozy relationship that exists between the film pirates and the police.
The team also learnt that when senior Delhi Police officials heard of the raid conducted at the behest of the Anti-Piracy Cell, orders were passed for another raid on Gill's residence.
However, Gill was apparently informed by his accquaintances in the Delhi Police and the team caught him emptying his godown on camera, loading the DVD boxes into a truck and his car.
And Delhi is not the only city where the nexus of pirates operates with the knowledge of police officials.
Though senior police officials are aware of the seriousness and extent of the problem, they say that cracking down on piracy is not on their list of priorities.
DCP Mumbai, Ravindra Sengaokar says, "Dacoity, murder and other crimes are priority. Law and order is priority not cracking down on film piracy."
Manipulated FIRs and the actual culprits out at large - all with the blessings of the police. No wonder film piracy is alive and kicking in India.
After the expose, the team followed up another exclusive and exposed how those meant to police and prevent piracy are in fact a part of the well-oiled racket.
The team had earlier exposed Jasbir Gill, one of the biggest operators of the piracy business in Delhi.
Based on a tip off given to them by the Anti-Piracy Cell of the Delhi Police, police officials of the District Investigation Unit (DIU) agreed to raid Jasbir Gill's residence.
However, there was a hitch.
Senior Inspector DIU, Arvind Sharma, agreed to conduct a raid only after accepting a bribe from the Anti-Piracy Cell.
He even claimed that some senior police officials were aware of the fact that he accepted bribes, implying that a share of the money reached them as well.
After taking the money from the Anti-Piracy Cell, Sharma and his plain clothes men raided Jasbir Gill's basement at his residence where they seized boxes stacked to the ceiling full of DVD's.
However, sometime later, the FIR and seizure memo told a shockingly different story.
The seizure memo mentions just a few foreign films, 40 Hindi pornographic films and 25 inlay cards.
There was no mention of the lakhs of DVDs that the Special Investigation Team saw and captured on the hidden camera or the 22 CD writers used to make pirated CDs.
Why was the FIR manipulated?
This conversation between Jasbir Gill and Arvind Sharma, all caught on a hidden camera makes things clear.
Jasbir Singh to Arvind Sharma: "Police officials come to Pallika Bazaar everyday but I have a deal with them and I have never been arrested. My daughter is getting married on May 27, I will come after that and give you Rs two-three lakh."
The copy of the FIR, which is in the Special Investigation Team's possession is an example of the cozy relationship that exists between the film pirates and the police.
The team also learnt that when senior Delhi Police officials heard of the raid conducted at the behest of the Anti-Piracy Cell, orders were passed for another raid on Gill's residence.
However, Gill was apparently informed by his accquaintances in the Delhi Police and the team caught him emptying his godown on camera, loading the DVD boxes into a truck and his car.
And Delhi is not the only city where the nexus of pirates operates with the knowledge of police officials.
Though senior police officials are aware of the seriousness and extent of the problem, they say that cracking down on piracy is not on their list of priorities.
DCP Mumbai, Ravindra Sengaokar says, "Dacoity, murder and other crimes are priority. Law and order is priority not cracking down on film piracy."
Manipulated FIRs and the actual culprits out at large - all with the blessings of the police. No wonder film piracy is alive and kicking in India.
Piracy king has tentacles spread all over
After exposing how easy it is to obtain a movie CD even before the film hits theatres, CNN-IBN's Special Investigation Team (SIT) shows how the trade of piracy is flourishing in the heart of the Capital.
Jasbir Gill, according to CNN-IBN's sources, is one of the biggest operators in Delhi's film piracy network. Gill runs shop No M-12 at Palika Bazaar, Delhi's infamous electronics goods market. His shop is the nerve centre of Delhi's blue film and pirated film distribution network.
Pirates of reel-world crack the Code before release
1st day, 1st show ignites piracy wildfire
On a certain day at around 1000 hours (IST), the sources led the Special Investigation Team to Gill's residence only to find men carrying brown boxes and loading them into Gill's car.
The boxes contained freshly burned or recorded pirated films - an operation that takes place round-the clock in the basement of Gill's home. Gill has a rack of 22 CD burners, employed to mass-produce pirated CDs. His basement is stacked to the ceiling with blank CDs, on to which pirated films are recorded.
After the men loaded the boxes, Jasbir Gill emerged from his house and drove off with his latest consignment. The CNN-IBN team decided to follow his car. The trail led to Gate No1 of Delhi's Palika Bazaar, exactly where the CNN-IBN sources had pointed their fingers.
As Gill arrived at the spot with many boxes containing hundreds of such CDs, he started handing over the packages to some people who looked liked his own men. They then went ahead to distribute the same to various shops in Palika Bazaar.
The cost of an original CD is anywhere between Rs 200 and Rs 250, while the pirated versions sell for half that price - and that is what makes film piracy a lucrative business - the low cost of the movie CDs.
The CDs cost less because:
Cost of Blank CD - Rs 10
Cost of Inlay Card - Rs 4
Cost of Cover - Rs 1
Cost of Burning - Rs 1
Total Cost - Rs 16
The sources told CNN-IBN's Special Investigation Team that as many as 200 shops in Palika Bazaar deal in such pirated CDs. And each retailer makes around Rs 5 lakh per month from this grey business.
Jasbir Gill, according to CNN-IBN's sources, is one of the biggest operators in Delhi's film piracy network. Gill runs shop No M-12 at Palika Bazaar, Delhi's infamous electronics goods market. His shop is the nerve centre of Delhi's blue film and pirated film distribution network.
Pirates of reel-world crack the Code before release
1st day, 1st show ignites piracy wildfire
On a certain day at around 1000 hours (IST), the sources led the Special Investigation Team to Gill's residence only to find men carrying brown boxes and loading them into Gill's car.
The boxes contained freshly burned or recorded pirated films - an operation that takes place round-the clock in the basement of Gill's home. Gill has a rack of 22 CD burners, employed to mass-produce pirated CDs. His basement is stacked to the ceiling with blank CDs, on to which pirated films are recorded.
After the men loaded the boxes, Jasbir Gill emerged from his house and drove off with his latest consignment. The CNN-IBN team decided to follow his car. The trail led to Gate No1 of Delhi's Palika Bazaar, exactly where the CNN-IBN sources had pointed their fingers.
As Gill arrived at the spot with many boxes containing hundreds of such CDs, he started handing over the packages to some people who looked liked his own men. They then went ahead to distribute the same to various shops in Palika Bazaar.
The cost of an original CD is anywhere between Rs 200 and Rs 250, while the pirated versions sell for half that price - and that is what makes film piracy a lucrative business - the low cost of the movie CDs.
The CDs cost less because:
Cost of Blank CD - Rs 10
Cost of Inlay Card - Rs 4
Cost of Cover - Rs 1
Cost of Burning - Rs 1
Total Cost - Rs 16
The sources told CNN-IBN's Special Investigation Team that as many as 200 shops in Palika Bazaar deal in such pirated CDs. And each retailer makes around Rs 5 lakh per month from this grey business.
1st day, 1st show ignites piracy wildfire
Every year, the government loses Rs 1,700 crore in revenue because of the booming film piracy business.
Anil Nayer of Motion Pictures Association (MPA) - an association of seven Hollywood studios that tracks film piracy worldwide - says the first target of the film pirates is to leak an original print.
In piracy king's den, trade booms
Pirates of reel-world crack the Code before release "What typically happens is that a truck carrying a film print stops at one place and the truck driver makes a copy of the same. That becomes the master copy then. En route he has tie-ups with people who actually help him to make it. So, it is a very well-oiled machinery that is working," says Head of Operations, MPA, Anil Nayer.
CNN-IBN Special Investigation Team tracked down a film pirate in Mumbai and found out how the film piracy nexus operates.
"The print of Gangster was leaked from M4U, a Ghaziabad-based theatre. The print is then sent to Bombay and from there to Karachi in Pakistan," says a man involved in film piracy.
Once a copy of a new film is made, the master copy spawns the entire film piracy trade. It is replicated into lakhs of pirated CDs, which are then distributed through a well-knit film piracy network across the subcontinent.
"It comes to Mumbai and then goes to Pakistan again. After Mumbai, it goes to Karachi, Nepal, it goes everywhere," reveals a man involved in the racket.
The film piracy trade also spawns other activities. For instance, the inlay cards that are meant to be pasted on the pirated CDs, are printed much in advance.
With Fanaa all set to hit the theatres, film pirates of Mumbai are eagerly waiting for the 'pirated master copy' of the film. The moment they lay their hands on the 'pirated master CD', lakhs of pirated copies of Fanaa will be made within hours and the inlay cards of Fanaa will be pasted on them.
And before the evening show of Fanaa on Friday, its pirated CDs would have hit the markets all over the subcontinent.
Anil Nayer of Motion Pictures Association (MPA) - an association of seven Hollywood studios that tracks film piracy worldwide - says the first target of the film pirates is to leak an original print.
In piracy king's den, trade booms
Pirates of reel-world crack the Code before release "What typically happens is that a truck carrying a film print stops at one place and the truck driver makes a copy of the same. That becomes the master copy then. En route he has tie-ups with people who actually help him to make it. So, it is a very well-oiled machinery that is working," says Head of Operations, MPA, Anil Nayer.
CNN-IBN Special Investigation Team tracked down a film pirate in Mumbai and found out how the film piracy nexus operates.
"The print of Gangster was leaked from M4U, a Ghaziabad-based theatre. The print is then sent to Bombay and from there to Karachi in Pakistan," says a man involved in film piracy.
Once a copy of a new film is made, the master copy spawns the entire film piracy trade. It is replicated into lakhs of pirated CDs, which are then distributed through a well-knit film piracy network across the subcontinent.
"It comes to Mumbai and then goes to Pakistan again. After Mumbai, it goes to Karachi, Nepal, it goes everywhere," reveals a man involved in the racket.
The film piracy trade also spawns other activities. For instance, the inlay cards that are meant to be pasted on the pirated CDs, are printed much in advance.
With Fanaa all set to hit the theatres, film pirates of Mumbai are eagerly waiting for the 'pirated master copy' of the film. The moment they lay their hands on the 'pirated master CD', lakhs of pirated copies of Fanaa will be made within hours and the inlay cards of Fanaa will be pasted on them.
And before the evening show of Fanaa on Friday, its pirated CDs would have hit the markets all over the subcontinent.
Mafia mantra: Steal it, mix it
Petrol adulteration in Uttar Pradesh is a business and the mafia running it has no fear of the law. A CNN-IBN Special Investigation found that the area around the Mathura Oil Refinery is a hub for adulteration which begins as soon as oil tankers roll out of the refinery gates.
“This is our business and we have been in this for ages,” says a mafia leader. The Mathura refinery is one of the six owned by the Indian Oil Corporation.
The petrol adulteration mafia stalks the area around this refinery and both the local administration and law enforcement authorities look the other way. There is a reason for that: Mafia members allege that they regularly give bribes to officials.
"We are not scared of administration at all, they get their quota,” says the mafia leader. The CNN-IBN Special Investigation Team has on camera caught the mafia siphoning and adulterating petrol from an oil tanker just a few hundred metres away from the refinery.
When the CNN-IBN crew spotted near the refinery, goons on motorcycles chased us.
“As soon a truck comes out of the refinery, we take it directly to our store. In the store we swap the oil. We have setting an understanding with drivers. The trade is well organised and every one gets their cut. There is no confusion between the administration and us,” says the mafia leader.
Indian Oil Corporation officer S Manjunath was murdered in Lakhimpur Kheri last year after he warned a petrol pump against selling adulterated petrol.
“This is our business and we have been in this for ages,” says a mafia leader. The Mathura refinery is one of the six owned by the Indian Oil Corporation.
The petrol adulteration mafia stalks the area around this refinery and both the local administration and law enforcement authorities look the other way. There is a reason for that: Mafia members allege that they regularly give bribes to officials.
"We are not scared of administration at all, they get their quota,” says the mafia leader. The CNN-IBN Special Investigation Team has on camera caught the mafia siphoning and adulterating petrol from an oil tanker just a few hundred metres away from the refinery.
When the CNN-IBN crew spotted near the refinery, goons on motorcycles chased us.
“As soon a truck comes out of the refinery, we take it directly to our store. In the store we swap the oil. We have setting an understanding with drivers. The trade is well organised and every one gets their cut. There is no confusion between the administration and us,” says the mafia leader.
Indian Oil Corporation officer S Manjunath was murdered in Lakhimpur Kheri last year after he warned a petrol pump against selling adulterated petrol.
Panipat oil depot a sitting duck
The Bharat Petroleum Depot in Panipat, Haryana, is a key oil installation, situated just 90 km away from the Capital.
It stores about 40,000 kilolitres of petrol and diesel at any given point of time. This is enough reason for this depot to be a potential target for terrorists.
Interestingly, a potential terrorist does not even need explosives for a strike in such an installation; just a matchstick can do enough damage. This is the reason why oil installations need watertight security blanket at all times.
After the 7/11 terror attack in Mumbai, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has declared a red alert at all oil refineries, depots and installations. But are the oil installations geared to meet the emerging security challenge?
Based on specific intelligence that the petrol adulteration mafia in Haryana has easy access to this depot, the CNN-IBN Special Investigation Team did a spot-check only to discover alarming security lapses at this key oil installation.
In normal circumstances, entering this high-security depot should not be easy. But the CNN-IBN team made its entry quite easily, only to prove that it is as easy for any potential terrorist to enter this oil installation.
It took just Rs 500 to facilitate the entry. The petrol mafia, of course, pays thousands of rupees to enter sensitive oil installations like this Panipat Bharat Petroleum Depot.
This exposes a major security lapse and frightening possibilities in the event of a terrorist sleeper cell making its entry into the depot just like the petrol mafia people do.
When the CNN-IBN correspondent cracked the watertight security of the depot, he was even carrying a matchbox with him.
Strangely, Rs 500 was enough to make the guard sidestep every procedure and let a potential danger in.
When contacted, a Bharat Petroleum spokesperson outlined an elaborate security protocol at all of its oil installations.
They include frisking at the time of entry, issuing of photo passes to all visitors, checking of visitors and vehicles for explosive material and restriction of visitors' entry to the administrative area of the oil installation.
But when the CNN-IBN team made its entry, nobody asked them for any identity proof. There was no body search and the matchbox entered undetected. The team first entered the Administrative Block and then visited other offices, including even the sensitive depot laboratories. Nobody stopped them.
Next, the team headed towards the fuel storage area, an ultra-sensitive area. A sign on the site clearly states, "Entry is restricted only to people with Identity Cards." But the CNN-IBN team was inside without any identity card.
Finally, they reached the filling area, where fuel is loaded on to tankers. In fact, the CNN-IBN correspondent was within inches from the storage facility for 40,000 kilolitres of petrol and diesel with a matchbox in his pocket.
But there was no one to stop him, no one to ask him who he is or what is he doing there.
"I think it's most serious. I think the security system doesn't exist there and terrorists can take advantage of it any day and (in such an eventuality) it will be a very big problem for us. Casualty is not the only concern; the entire depot will be blown up. The question is nobody asked you when you were roaming around, as to who you are and why are you here – I am afraid this is a very serious security lapse," Maj Gen Afsir Karim, a security expert, said.
It stores about 40,000 kilolitres of petrol and diesel at any given point of time. This is enough reason for this depot to be a potential target for terrorists.
Interestingly, a potential terrorist does not even need explosives for a strike in such an installation; just a matchstick can do enough damage. This is the reason why oil installations need watertight security blanket at all times.
After the 7/11 terror attack in Mumbai, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has declared a red alert at all oil refineries, depots and installations. But are the oil installations geared to meet the emerging security challenge?
Based on specific intelligence that the petrol adulteration mafia in Haryana has easy access to this depot, the CNN-IBN Special Investigation Team did a spot-check only to discover alarming security lapses at this key oil installation.
In normal circumstances, entering this high-security depot should not be easy. But the CNN-IBN team made its entry quite easily, only to prove that it is as easy for any potential terrorist to enter this oil installation.
It took just Rs 500 to facilitate the entry. The petrol mafia, of course, pays thousands of rupees to enter sensitive oil installations like this Panipat Bharat Petroleum Depot.
This exposes a major security lapse and frightening possibilities in the event of a terrorist sleeper cell making its entry into the depot just like the petrol mafia people do.
When the CNN-IBN correspondent cracked the watertight security of the depot, he was even carrying a matchbox with him.
Strangely, Rs 500 was enough to make the guard sidestep every procedure and let a potential danger in.
When contacted, a Bharat Petroleum spokesperson outlined an elaborate security protocol at all of its oil installations.
They include frisking at the time of entry, issuing of photo passes to all visitors, checking of visitors and vehicles for explosive material and restriction of visitors' entry to the administrative area of the oil installation.
But when the CNN-IBN team made its entry, nobody asked them for any identity proof. There was no body search and the matchbox entered undetected. The team first entered the Administrative Block and then visited other offices, including even the sensitive depot laboratories. Nobody stopped them.
Next, the team headed towards the fuel storage area, an ultra-sensitive area. A sign on the site clearly states, "Entry is restricted only to people with Identity Cards." But the CNN-IBN team was inside without any identity card.
Finally, they reached the filling area, where fuel is loaded on to tankers. In fact, the CNN-IBN correspondent was within inches from the storage facility for 40,000 kilolitres of petrol and diesel with a matchbox in his pocket.
But there was no one to stop him, no one to ask him who he is or what is he doing there.
"I think it's most serious. I think the security system doesn't exist there and terrorists can take advantage of it any day and (in such an eventuality) it will be a very big problem for us. Casualty is not the only concern; the entire depot will be blown up. The question is nobody asked you when you were roaming around, as to who you are and why are you here – I am afraid this is a very serious security lapse," Maj Gen Afsir Karim, a security expert, said.
Readerspeak: Selja should resign
On Friday, a CNN-IBN special investigation showed how the Minister of State for Urban Employment and Poverty Alleviation, Kumari Selja, has been used by fake job scamsters in Haryana.
The special investigation team has documentary evidence to prove the that she is embroiled in an ironical controversy and even met with victims who paid up to Rs 2 lakh each for jobs they claim that Selja Kumari urged them into taking up.
The controversy has outraged viewers and they logged on to IBNLive to express their indignity.
Says a reader, Pulak Ghosh, "What is going on? How will the people believe that our ministers are doing the jobs entrusted to them properly. Ministers are doing jobs for their own interest. How they can help the country? The Prime Minister must take action immediately."
Other readers agree and some like Percy Jamshedwala go to the extent of writing that the Congress Diciplinary Committee should permanantly relieve the erring people - Kumari Selja and D K Bansal - from their office. "Also P S Sandhu, should be, with others tried in the court of law and given rigourious punishment," he adds.
Another reader Prachanda says, "Lalu, Shibu Soren, Hooda and Selja are only tip of the iceberg. The greater minds fish under waters without anyone even noticing them. It's the ill fate of our country that we have to bear such unscrupulous governments one after the other."
People have expressed their horror at the fact that so many members of the UPA Government have been involved in scams, but no action has been taking against them, and instead they have been given the status of ministers.
Says a reader, Sudharshan Kumar M, "Ministers being involved in scams is nothing new in the UPA Government. We are not surprised, because the Government has given ministerial status to Lalu Prasad, who was involved in the fodder scam and also Shibu Soren who has been allegedly involved in various scams. It is even more absurd when seen in the light that the Government claims to be pro-poor and is also trying to implement the national rural employment guarantee act. What a way to generate employment opportunities in India!"
However, there are some who understand and appreciate Kumari Selja's embarrassing predicament and have a word of caution for her.
Says a reader Sampann, "Kumari Selja is quite serious and stern in her actions. She is definitely one of the finest young leaders we have. My only word of advice would be - be cautious of the people who are around you for they may have unscrupulous intentions."
The special investigation team has documentary evidence to prove the that she is embroiled in an ironical controversy and even met with victims who paid up to Rs 2 lakh each for jobs they claim that Selja Kumari urged them into taking up.
The controversy has outraged viewers and they logged on to IBNLive to express their indignity.
Says a reader, Pulak Ghosh, "What is going on? How will the people believe that our ministers are doing the jobs entrusted to them properly. Ministers are doing jobs for their own interest. How they can help the country? The Prime Minister must take action immediately."
Other readers agree and some like Percy Jamshedwala go to the extent of writing that the Congress Diciplinary Committee should permanantly relieve the erring people - Kumari Selja and D K Bansal - from their office. "Also P S Sandhu, should be, with others tried in the court of law and given rigourious punishment," he adds.
Another reader Prachanda says, "Lalu, Shibu Soren, Hooda and Selja are only tip of the iceberg. The greater minds fish under waters without anyone even noticing them. It's the ill fate of our country that we have to bear such unscrupulous governments one after the other."
People have expressed their horror at the fact that so many members of the UPA Government have been involved in scams, but no action has been taking against them, and instead they have been given the status of ministers.
Says a reader, Sudharshan Kumar M, "Ministers being involved in scams is nothing new in the UPA Government. We are not surprised, because the Government has given ministerial status to Lalu Prasad, who was involved in the fodder scam and also Shibu Soren who has been allegedly involved in various scams. It is even more absurd when seen in the light that the Government claims to be pro-poor and is also trying to implement the national rural employment guarantee act. What a way to generate employment opportunities in India!"
However, there are some who understand and appreciate Kumari Selja's embarrassing predicament and have a word of caution for her.
Says a reader Sampann, "Kumari Selja is quite serious and stern in her actions. She is definitely one of the finest young leaders we have. My only word of advice would be - be cautious of the people who are around you for they may have unscrupulous intentions."
Sandhu had Haryana Cong blessings
The CNN IBN's Special Investigation Team has found out that hundreds of victims across seven states paid up to Rs 2 lakh each for getting jobs in a Public Sector firm that turned out to be fake.
D K Bansal a Congress MLA from Ambala Cantonment in Haryana, a part of Union Minister of State Kumari Selja's Lok Sabha seat, could be a key person in the scam.
P S Sandhu, who floated the fake PSU, Agrofed was given respectability by Bansal.
Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation Kumari Selja admitted to CNN IBN Special Investigation Team that Bansal introduced her to Sandhu -- an association that she now regrets, but it may be too late.
"About these people I feel very sad and responsible that I should have indirectly recommended them indirectly. It was wrong on my part," Kumari Selja says.
When confronted about his links with Sandhu, Bansal accepted that his family helped print Agrofed's stationary and open its bank account.
CNN-IBN: Did your brother print Agrofed stationery ?
Bansal: Yes he did.
CNN-IBN: Did your elder brother help in opening the bank account of Agrofed?
Bansal: He is a legal advisor. As a legal advisor he introduced that Mr Sandhu, son of so and so is known to him.
Bansal was also Sandhu's lawyer when he was jailed in a similar job fraud case
in 2003.
"I was his counsel in 2003 and that case is still pending and no evidence has been recorded," Bansal says.
The photographs of Bansal and Sandhu eating from the same plate, of Sandhu with Bansal during election campaign, and of the water coolers gifted by Sandhu reveal a cozy relationship.
"Why are you blaming me as there are other persons in the pictures," Bansal says.
He takes out some photographs and pointing towards one of the senior Congress leader says,
"Who is this person whose photograph was there? He is the Education Minister."
As a photo of Sandhu with the Haryana Minister of Education & Languages and Industrial Training & Vocational Education, Phool Chand Mullana, suggests, Sandhu was a regular at Haryana Congress meetings.
While Sandhu floated Agrofed to dupe job seekers, politicians like Kumari Selja allegedly joined in for the political mileage.
While the political linkages of the scam have not been not fully explored, the
Ambala police has cracked open the scam
"Idea was if you give say Rs 3 lakh you get job where you get salary of Rs 3000 per month," Ambala Superintendent of Police Amitabh Dillon says.
PS Sandhu could not have set up such an elaborate scam without political patronage.
But strangely while Sandhu is in jail, the truth about the politicians involved in this scam remains a mystery.
D K Bansal a Congress MLA from Ambala Cantonment in Haryana, a part of Union Minister of State Kumari Selja's Lok Sabha seat, could be a key person in the scam.
P S Sandhu, who floated the fake PSU, Agrofed was given respectability by Bansal.
Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation Kumari Selja admitted to CNN IBN Special Investigation Team that Bansal introduced her to Sandhu -- an association that she now regrets, but it may be too late.
"About these people I feel very sad and responsible that I should have indirectly recommended them indirectly. It was wrong on my part," Kumari Selja says.
When confronted about his links with Sandhu, Bansal accepted that his family helped print Agrofed's stationary and open its bank account.
CNN-IBN: Did your brother print Agrofed stationery ?
Bansal: Yes he did.
CNN-IBN: Did your elder brother help in opening the bank account of Agrofed?
Bansal: He is a legal advisor. As a legal advisor he introduced that Mr Sandhu, son of so and so is known to him.
Bansal was also Sandhu's lawyer when he was jailed in a similar job fraud case
in 2003.
"I was his counsel in 2003 and that case is still pending and no evidence has been recorded," Bansal says.
The photographs of Bansal and Sandhu eating from the same plate, of Sandhu with Bansal during election campaign, and of the water coolers gifted by Sandhu reveal a cozy relationship.
"Why are you blaming me as there are other persons in the pictures," Bansal says.
He takes out some photographs and pointing towards one of the senior Congress leader says,
"Who is this person whose photograph was there? He is the Education Minister."
As a photo of Sandhu with the Haryana Minister of Education & Languages and Industrial Training & Vocational Education, Phool Chand Mullana, suggests, Sandhu was a regular at Haryana Congress meetings.
While Sandhu floated Agrofed to dupe job seekers, politicians like Kumari Selja allegedly joined in for the political mileage.
While the political linkages of the scam have not been not fully explored, the
Ambala police has cracked open the scam
"Idea was if you give say Rs 3 lakh you get job where you get salary of Rs 3000 per month," Ambala Superintendent of Police Amitabh Dillon says.
PS Sandhu could not have set up such an elaborate scam without political patronage.
But strangely while Sandhu is in jail, the truth about the politicians involved in this scam remains a mystery.
Minister embroiled in job scam
Minister of State for Urban Employment and Poverty Alleviation Kumari Selja is embroiled in an ironical controversy. A special investigation by CNN-IBN has found she may have been used by fake job scamsters in Haryana.
The team has documentary evidence and has met victims who paid up to Rs 2 lakh each for jobs they claim that Selja Kumari urged them into taking up.
Involved in the scam are a local scamster P S Sandhu and D K Bansal, the Congress MLA from Ambala Cantonment, which incidentally is Selja Kumari's Lok Sabha constituency.
The duo are under the scanner for setting up a fake Public Sector Undertaking called Agrofed and duping hundreds of youth across seven states.
Sandhu's mantra seemed to be "Give me a lakh and I will give you a government job". In 2003, Sandhu was jailed for posing as a Director of the Sports Authority of Haryana and issuing fake appointment letters to job-seekers.
Today, Sandhu is back in prison, accused of floating the bogus public sector unit.
“They posed as Government of India Undertaking and the people they felt that they are getting regular government job,” Ambala’s Superintendent of Police Amitabh Dhillon said.
Sandhu's political connections with the Congress Party leadership in Haryana ensured that nobody doubted his fake employment letters.
A newspaper ad of Agrofed featuring Union Minister Kumari Selja and Congress party hoardings sponsored by the fake PSU were all over Ambala two months ago.
When CNN-IBN team met Kumari Selja she said, “It’s true that there were certain people who came to me, for instance, there was this young hapless girl who was physically challenged and wanted a job,” Kumari Selja said.
CNN IBN's Special Investigation Team tracked down this physically challenged girl that Selja referred to.
CNN-IBN: Aapko Bataya kisne that Agrofed ke bare mein? (Who told you about Agrofed?)
Aruna: Unhone bataya tha Selja ne.( Selja Kumari told me about it)
CNN-IBN: Kya bataya tha? (What did she tell you?)
Aruna: Vaha mujhe apply karne ke liye bola tha. Uske baad unhone D K Bansal se baat ki thi. Unhone bola tha iss larki ki job lagani hai, toh D K Bansal ne yaha par appointment letter yaha mere paas bhej diya tha. (She asked me to apply there and said she had spoken with D K Bansal. Bansal was told I needed a job and he sent me an appointment letter.)
Like Aruna, many candidates who were given the Agrofed job letters say that they were sent by Sandhu and Bansal.
Deaf and mute Gurpreet Singh is another candidate who was duped. His employment letter clearly has Sandhu's signature as the chairman of Agrofed.
“Selja ke kehne par D K Bansal ne unhe yeah wala letter diya. Toh uske baad bola bhai iska medical checkup karvaye. (D K Bansal sent the appointment letter and asked us to get a medical checkup done)
When CNN-IBN confronted Bansal with photographs of him and Sandhu, he responded cautiously.
"I am seeing this picture for hthe first time. If you show me the actual album, then I can tell you if they are fabricated. Or it may be true, then it is not an offence," said Sandhu.
Kumari Selja seemed embarrassed by her association with a conman like Sandhu. But can she be excused? And the irony remains that she is the minister of Urban Employment.
The team has documentary evidence and has met victims who paid up to Rs 2 lakh each for jobs they claim that Selja Kumari urged them into taking up.
Involved in the scam are a local scamster P S Sandhu and D K Bansal, the Congress MLA from Ambala Cantonment, which incidentally is Selja Kumari's Lok Sabha constituency.
The duo are under the scanner for setting up a fake Public Sector Undertaking called Agrofed and duping hundreds of youth across seven states.
Sandhu's mantra seemed to be "Give me a lakh and I will give you a government job". In 2003, Sandhu was jailed for posing as a Director of the Sports Authority of Haryana and issuing fake appointment letters to job-seekers.
Today, Sandhu is back in prison, accused of floating the bogus public sector unit.
“They posed as Government of India Undertaking and the people they felt that they are getting regular government job,” Ambala’s Superintendent of Police Amitabh Dhillon said.
Sandhu's political connections with the Congress Party leadership in Haryana ensured that nobody doubted his fake employment letters.
A newspaper ad of Agrofed featuring Union Minister Kumari Selja and Congress party hoardings sponsored by the fake PSU were all over Ambala two months ago.
When CNN-IBN team met Kumari Selja she said, “It’s true that there were certain people who came to me, for instance, there was this young hapless girl who was physically challenged and wanted a job,” Kumari Selja said.
CNN IBN's Special Investigation Team tracked down this physically challenged girl that Selja referred to.
CNN-IBN: Aapko Bataya kisne that Agrofed ke bare mein? (Who told you about Agrofed?)
Aruna: Unhone bataya tha Selja ne.( Selja Kumari told me about it)
CNN-IBN: Kya bataya tha? (What did she tell you?)
Aruna: Vaha mujhe apply karne ke liye bola tha. Uske baad unhone D K Bansal se baat ki thi. Unhone bola tha iss larki ki job lagani hai, toh D K Bansal ne yaha par appointment letter yaha mere paas bhej diya tha. (She asked me to apply there and said she had spoken with D K Bansal. Bansal was told I needed a job and he sent me an appointment letter.)
Like Aruna, many candidates who were given the Agrofed job letters say that they were sent by Sandhu and Bansal.
Deaf and mute Gurpreet Singh is another candidate who was duped. His employment letter clearly has Sandhu's signature as the chairman of Agrofed.
“Selja ke kehne par D K Bansal ne unhe yeah wala letter diya. Toh uske baad bola bhai iska medical checkup karvaye. (D K Bansal sent the appointment letter and asked us to get a medical checkup done)
When CNN-IBN confronted Bansal with photographs of him and Sandhu, he responded cautiously.
"I am seeing this picture for hthe first time. If you show me the actual album, then I can tell you if they are fabricated. Or it may be true, then it is not an offence," said Sandhu.
Kumari Selja seemed embarrassed by her association with a conman like Sandhu. But can she be excused? And the irony remains that she is the minister of Urban Employment.
The Special Task Force (STF) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police picked up Mohammad Afzal in the summer of 2000 and tortured him during interrogation beca
Next time you get an MTNL bill, you can simply ignore it. You can ignore the next month's bill as well. After all, MTNL has been playing Santa Claus for many years now.
MTNL is definitely the most trusted company for more than 5 lakh customers. Most of these customers have not paid their telephone bills – for both landline and mobile phones – for many months now, amounting to nearly Rs 700 crore. Strangely, the telephone company is not keen on collecting the payments from these defaulters.
In an independent investigation, CNN-IBN has unearthed deep-rooted corruption inside this public sector undertaking and discovered how it suits a few officials if telephone bills are never collected.
In late 2004, the MTNL top brass had decided to outsource the recovery of dues in view of a sharp rise in the number of defaulters and outstanding bills after it was observed that the internal recovery mechanism had failed to handle the task in hand.
A tender was floated and the job was awarded to three companies. But strangely, the three companies were not allowed to do their job. Instead, they were instructed not to touch thousands of 'commercially important' defaulters.
For instance, BLS Detectives – one of the three firms – was given the task of recovering nearly Rs 450 crore. But the telecom major didn't advertise the newly recruited collection agents. In fact, when the BLS Detectives started work, they faced total non-cooperation and hostility from the MTNL staff who even prevented them from collecting their dues.
Subsequently, MTNL refused to honour the signed contract. The finance department of MTNL was the most hostile and in a few months they effectively closed the door on the outsourcing agents.
“It seems like they were hell-bent on not allowing us to perform our mandate," Vinod Agarwal, Chairman of BLS Detectives, alleged.
Despite all the hostility, BLS Detectives managed to recover Rs 10 crore from defaulters. Documents available exclusively with CNN-IBN clearly show how cheques collected by the outsourcing agencies were given to MTNL, but in spite of repeated reminders; they were never deposited in the bank till they became invalid. The telecom company also refused to take criminal action against the defaulters whose cheques bounced.
The company has also put a ban on chasing commercially-important customers, who include hundreds of foreign embassies in New Delhi, including embassies of America, China, Spain, Pakistan, Italy, South Africa, Denmark, Saudi Arabia and Germany.
There are also several departments and ministries of the Government of India, including the Cabinet Secretariat, Income-Tax department, Tourism Ministry, Ministry of external Affairs, Ministry of Human Resource and development, Ministry of Home Affairs, Finance Ministry, Ministry of Law and Justice, Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Agriculture.
Other privileged customers include Punjab National Bank, State Bank of Patiala and Standard Chartered, private enterprises including drug major Ranbaxy, FabIndia, Alsthom Power and software giants Oracle. In all, there are nearly 80,000 defaulters and their dues work out to a whopping Rs 200 crore.
Speaking to CNN-IBN on the condition of anonymity, many MTNL officiers claimed that the recovery department is bribed by those consumers who do not pay their bills, which means outsourcing the recovery system has stopped their illegal income.
Transparency is not really a strength at MTNL. Despite repeated efforts, MTNL's Executive Director refused to defend his company on camera though he admitted that he was aware of such complaints.
"The way their financial branches of the different zones have decided to question decisions of the executive directors and board and if the arrears have run up to Rs 513 crore, it's obvious that something is seriously wrong," says Shantanu Sen, former joint director of CBI.
MTNL is definitely the most trusted company for more than 5 lakh customers. Most of these customers have not paid their telephone bills – for both landline and mobile phones – for many months now, amounting to nearly Rs 700 crore. Strangely, the telephone company is not keen on collecting the payments from these defaulters.
In an independent investigation, CNN-IBN has unearthed deep-rooted corruption inside this public sector undertaking and discovered how it suits a few officials if telephone bills are never collected.
In late 2004, the MTNL top brass had decided to outsource the recovery of dues in view of a sharp rise in the number of defaulters and outstanding bills after it was observed that the internal recovery mechanism had failed to handle the task in hand.
A tender was floated and the job was awarded to three companies. But strangely, the three companies were not allowed to do their job. Instead, they were instructed not to touch thousands of 'commercially important' defaulters.
For instance, BLS Detectives – one of the three firms – was given the task of recovering nearly Rs 450 crore. But the telecom major didn't advertise the newly recruited collection agents. In fact, when the BLS Detectives started work, they faced total non-cooperation and hostility from the MTNL staff who even prevented them from collecting their dues.
Subsequently, MTNL refused to honour the signed contract. The finance department of MTNL was the most hostile and in a few months they effectively closed the door on the outsourcing agents.
“It seems like they were hell-bent on not allowing us to perform our mandate," Vinod Agarwal, Chairman of BLS Detectives, alleged.
Despite all the hostility, BLS Detectives managed to recover Rs 10 crore from defaulters. Documents available exclusively with CNN-IBN clearly show how cheques collected by the outsourcing agencies were given to MTNL, but in spite of repeated reminders; they were never deposited in the bank till they became invalid. The telecom company also refused to take criminal action against the defaulters whose cheques bounced.
The company has also put a ban on chasing commercially-important customers, who include hundreds of foreign embassies in New Delhi, including embassies of America, China, Spain, Pakistan, Italy, South Africa, Denmark, Saudi Arabia and Germany.
There are also several departments and ministries of the Government of India, including the Cabinet Secretariat, Income-Tax department, Tourism Ministry, Ministry of external Affairs, Ministry of Human Resource and development, Ministry of Home Affairs, Finance Ministry, Ministry of Law and Justice, Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Agriculture.
Other privileged customers include Punjab National Bank, State Bank of Patiala and Standard Chartered, private enterprises including drug major Ranbaxy, FabIndia, Alsthom Power and software giants Oracle. In all, there are nearly 80,000 defaulters and their dues work out to a whopping Rs 200 crore.
Speaking to CNN-IBN on the condition of anonymity, many MTNL officiers claimed that the recovery department is bribed by those consumers who do not pay their bills, which means outsourcing the recovery system has stopped their illegal income.
Transparency is not really a strength at MTNL. Despite repeated efforts, MTNL's Executive Director refused to defend his company on camera though he admitted that he was aware of such complaints.
"The way their financial branches of the different zones have decided to question decisions of the executive directors and board and if the arrears have run up to Rs 513 crore, it's obvious that something is seriously wrong," says Shantanu Sen, former joint director of CBI.
Tortured, but kept alive for a deal
The Special Task Force (STF) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police picked up Mohammad Afzal in the summer of 2000 and tortured him during interrogation because they had got a tip-off one of their informers, Parvez, that Afzal could lead them to Jaish-e-Mohammad's chief in Jammu and Kashmir.
But Afzal says he was tortured by STF for extortion. Both these versions were not examined by the trial court. And then, there is a third version to it. And like the other versions, this also never surfaced during Afzal's trial. Interestingly, Afzal has also not mentioned it in any of his letters.
It was Aijaz, Afzal’s elder brother, who arranged for his release from the STF camp through a senior police officer, the then SSP of Budgam, Ashaq Hussain Bukhari. Aijaz is a friend of the police officer's brother-in-law, Altaf Hussain. DSP Davinder Singh, who admits to torturing Afzal, confirmed this.
"Haan, Altaf ne hi chhudvaya, he was the mediator otherwise Aijaz seedha Bukhari saab ke paas nahin ja sakta tha," Davinder testifies. (Yes, Altaf got Afzal released. Else, he could not have gone to Bukhari.)
"Jab torture ispe zyada hua, toh my SP spoke to me. He asked me ki jo banda pakda hai uska kya hua? Maine kaha ki sir torture toh bahut kiya hai. nahi chala…unhone kaha ki aapko kya lagta hai? Maine kaha mera source toh kehta hai ki yeh uska banda hai - usko dayein-bayein chalata hai…---isko hai Gazi baba ke baare mein. Kehta hai dekhna banda mar na jaye…he should not die," Davinder recalls. (My SP asked me what had happened to Afzal. I told him we tortured him a lot but got no information. I told my SP that I was sure that I was sure that Afzal was a close aide of Gazi Baba. The SP told me to make sure that Afzal didn’t die.)
But Afzal says he was tortured by STF for extortion. Both these versions were not examined by the trial court. And then, there is a third version to it. And like the other versions, this also never surfaced during Afzal's trial. Interestingly, Afzal has also not mentioned it in any of his letters.
It was Aijaz, Afzal’s elder brother, who arranged for his release from the STF camp through a senior police officer, the then SSP of Budgam, Ashaq Hussain Bukhari. Aijaz is a friend of the police officer's brother-in-law, Altaf Hussain. DSP Davinder Singh, who admits to torturing Afzal, confirmed this.
"Haan, Altaf ne hi chhudvaya, he was the mediator otherwise Aijaz seedha Bukhari saab ke paas nahin ja sakta tha," Davinder testifies. (Yes, Altaf got Afzal released. Else, he could not have gone to Bukhari.)
"Jab torture ispe zyada hua, toh my SP spoke to me. He asked me ki jo banda pakda hai uska kya hua? Maine kaha ki sir torture toh bahut kiya hai. nahi chala…unhone kaha ki aapko kya lagta hai? Maine kaha mera source toh kehta hai ki yeh uska banda hai - usko dayein-bayein chalata hai…---isko hai Gazi baba ke baare mein. Kehta hai dekhna banda mar na jaye…he should not die," Davinder recalls. (My SP asked me what had happened to Afzal. I told him we tortured him a lot but got no information. I told my SP that I was sure that I was sure that Afzal was a close aide of Gazi Baba. The SP told me to make sure that Afzal didn’t die.)
Afzal was a Jaish operative: brother
In 2000, the Special Task Force (STF) of J&K Police identified Afzal as a Jaish-e-Mohammad operative. The question then arises is why didn't the STF testify during Afzal's trial that they suspected him to be linked to a terrorist organisation.
In fact, the Supreme Court said in its judgment that there is no evidence of Afzal being a member of a terrorist organisation. None of the 80 prosecution witnesses ever even alleged that Afzal was in any way associated or belonged to any terrorist organisation. So, is Mohammad Afzal a terrorist?
Afzal says it was former SP of STF Dravinder Singh who compelled him to take Mohammad, one of the five terrorists involved in the Parliament attack on December 13, 2001, to Delhi and find him a house.
However, Dravinder says he never met Afzal after June 2000.
"After June 2000 I have not had any conversation with him. Nor did I meet him. There is no iota of truth in these allegations. I don’t know who has tutored him to say these things," Dravinder claims.
Afzal says Dravinder passed instructions to Mohammad and him over the phone and insists that phone records will prove that he was being directed by the STF.
"These people are making up stories. If he claims that the phone number is from the STF then let’s get the number verified. Do you think that Delhi Police has not verified them? Do you think that is possible? These are all concocted stories," Dravinder argues.
"If I do have a role in these activities then do you think the police or Government will spare me. It’s such a big episode and nobody will be spared. So, now one can say anything to save themselves," Dravinder adds.
But by admitting that he helped Mohammad, Afzal clearly implicates himself in the Parliament attack case.
"If it was cleared five-six years ago then what do they want to prove now? In his letter also Afzal has admitted to some extent. Now what do that want to prove?" Afzal’s elder brother, Aijaz Guru asks.
However, the police insist that Afzal knows more than what he revealed either in his letters or in the trial court.
"Well, Afzal should either accept that he is part of the conspiracy, whether at our behest or at the behest of the STF. You can’t have both sides. He can’t say I’m innocent because I’m not part of the conspiracy and then on the other hand say that ‘no, I was part of the conspiracy because I was forced into it’. So, let him make one stand clear. This is an extremely awkward situation where on one hand he’s pleading innocence and on the other hand he’s admitting he’s part of it and blaming the STF for it," Inspector General, J&K Police, S M Sahai says.
Despite the contradictions in Afzal’s letters, SAR Geelani, the Delhi University professor who was acquitted in the case, insists that the case against Afzal is based on circumstantial evidence.
"The court says that the first circumstantial evidence against him is that he identified the bodies of those killed inside Parliament," Geelani claims.
Strangely though, Afzal has always admitted to bringing Mohammad from Srinagar to Delhi. But then he claims he never identified Mohammad's body. "I had not identified any terrorist. Police told me the names of terrorists and forced me to identify them," he claims.
So is Afzal a terrorist? And was he involved in the Parliament attack?
"He was a part of JeM and he’s very much part of that conspiracy," Sahai states emphatically.
Afzal’s brother Aijaz, too, speaks on the same lines. "I will talk straight. I swear to Khuda that Afzal was a Jaish-e-Mohammad operative. Through Jaish he had helped in terror attacks in India," says Aijaz.
Now, even as President APJ Abdul Kalam ponders over Afzal's fate, his brother mourns the twist of destiny that has put Afzal on death row.
"He (Afzal) used to say that he doesn’t want to live here. He was worried that they (Jaish) will get after him. I sent him away but then suddenly I don’t know what happened to him. I don’t know how Gazi Baba influenced him to go to Delhi and work for him. That is the story of Afzal," Aijaz regrets.
"Whatever the country has decided for him is the right decision," Aijaz observes
In fact, the Supreme Court said in its judgment that there is no evidence of Afzal being a member of a terrorist organisation. None of the 80 prosecution witnesses ever even alleged that Afzal was in any way associated or belonged to any terrorist organisation. So, is Mohammad Afzal a terrorist?
Afzal says it was former SP of STF Dravinder Singh who compelled him to take Mohammad, one of the five terrorists involved in the Parliament attack on December 13, 2001, to Delhi and find him a house.
However, Dravinder says he never met Afzal after June 2000.
"After June 2000 I have not had any conversation with him. Nor did I meet him. There is no iota of truth in these allegations. I don’t know who has tutored him to say these things," Dravinder claims.
Afzal says Dravinder passed instructions to Mohammad and him over the phone and insists that phone records will prove that he was being directed by the STF.
"These people are making up stories. If he claims that the phone number is from the STF then let’s get the number verified. Do you think that Delhi Police has not verified them? Do you think that is possible? These are all concocted stories," Dravinder argues.
"If I do have a role in these activities then do you think the police or Government will spare me. It’s such a big episode and nobody will be spared. So, now one can say anything to save themselves," Dravinder adds.
But by admitting that he helped Mohammad, Afzal clearly implicates himself in the Parliament attack case.
"If it was cleared five-six years ago then what do they want to prove now? In his letter also Afzal has admitted to some extent. Now what do that want to prove?" Afzal’s elder brother, Aijaz Guru asks.
However, the police insist that Afzal knows more than what he revealed either in his letters or in the trial court.
"Well, Afzal should either accept that he is part of the conspiracy, whether at our behest or at the behest of the STF. You can’t have both sides. He can’t say I’m innocent because I’m not part of the conspiracy and then on the other hand say that ‘no, I was part of the conspiracy because I was forced into it’. So, let him make one stand clear. This is an extremely awkward situation where on one hand he’s pleading innocence and on the other hand he’s admitting he’s part of it and blaming the STF for it," Inspector General, J&K Police, S M Sahai says.
Despite the contradictions in Afzal’s letters, SAR Geelani, the Delhi University professor who was acquitted in the case, insists that the case against Afzal is based on circumstantial evidence.
"The court says that the first circumstantial evidence against him is that he identified the bodies of those killed inside Parliament," Geelani claims.
Strangely though, Afzal has always admitted to bringing Mohammad from Srinagar to Delhi. But then he claims he never identified Mohammad's body. "I had not identified any terrorist. Police told me the names of terrorists and forced me to identify them," he claims.
So is Afzal a terrorist? And was he involved in the Parliament attack?
"He was a part of JeM and he’s very much part of that conspiracy," Sahai states emphatically.
Afzal’s brother Aijaz, too, speaks on the same lines. "I will talk straight. I swear to Khuda that Afzal was a Jaish-e-Mohammad operative. Through Jaish he had helped in terror attacks in India," says Aijaz.
Now, even as President APJ Abdul Kalam ponders over Afzal's fate, his brother mourns the twist of destiny that has put Afzal on death row.
"He (Afzal) used to say that he doesn’t want to live here. He was worried that they (Jaish) will get after him. I sent him away but then suddenly I don’t know what happened to him. I don’t know how Gazi Baba influenced him to go to Delhi and work for him. That is the story of Afzal," Aijaz regrets.
"Whatever the country has decided for him is the right decision," Aijaz observes
The evidence against a terrorist
On December 13, 2001, when five terrorists attacked Parliament, the heart of India’s democracy, at 1140 hours IST, security forces responded quickly and killed all the attackers. The dead terrorists not only gave a face to the terror attack, they also left the first clues: five cell phones and some scribbled numbers.
The police homed in on three of these numbers. The first belonged to Delhi University professor S A R Geelani, who was arrested immediately. The second number was used by Shaukat Guru and the third by Mohammad Afzal, who is now on death row for the attack.
Minutes before the attack, Afzal took three calls from a cell phone (98110693456) that was found on the body of Mohammad, one of the dead terrorists.
Investigating agencies next targeted Afsana Guru, Shaukat’s wife. When Afsana was arrested, she told the police that Afzal and Shaukat had left for Srinagar by a truck in which Shaukat usually carried fruit to Srinagar. The J&K Special Operations Group were alerted immediately.
The Special Operations Group arrested Afzal and Shaukat at the Parampora Mandi in Srinagar on December 14, 2001 morning. The Special Force also made some recoveries. Akbar, the Special Operations Group man, who was tasked with the arrest of Afzal and Shaukat, is now facing death threats from terrorist groups.
The police homed in on three of these numbers. The first belonged to Delhi University professor S A R Geelani, who was arrested immediately. The second number was used by Shaukat Guru and the third by Mohammad Afzal, who is now on death row for the attack.
Minutes before the attack, Afzal took three calls from a cell phone (98110693456) that was found on the body of Mohammad, one of the dead terrorists.
Investigating agencies next targeted Afsana Guru, Shaukat’s wife. When Afsana was arrested, she told the police that Afzal and Shaukat had left for Srinagar by a truck in which Shaukat usually carried fruit to Srinagar. The J&K Special Operations Group were alerted immediately.
The Special Operations Group arrested Afzal and Shaukat at the Parampora Mandi in Srinagar on December 14, 2001 morning. The Special Force also made some recoveries. Akbar, the Special Operations Group man, who was tasked with the arrest of Afzal and Shaukat, is now facing death threats from terrorist groups.
The other side of Afzal's surrender
Among the many questions doing the rounds with regard to Mohammad Afzal, accused in Parliament attack case, a crucial one is: Was he a surrendered militant?
"Yes," he insists. In letters that he is supposed to have written to his lawyer, Afzal said he was regularly tortured by the Kashmir Special Task Force (STF). And those arguing in his favour insist that the STF used his militant past to make him a scapegoat in the Parliament attack case.
But investigations conducted by CNN-IBN’s Special Investigation Team, revealed that Afzal may have never surrendered.
"Till now, they don’t know who attacked Parliament. Who were those five people who were inside and got killed? Mr (L K) Advani, who was the Union Home Minister at that point of time, said that they looked like Pakistanis. They are Pakistanis. I say that Mr Advani looks like a Pakistani and Musharaff looks like an Indian to me. So, this is no proof," says S A R Geelani, a Delhi University lecturer who was acquitted in the case.
Geelani has joined those who are opposing the death sentence given to Afzal. Veteran Gandhian Nirmala Despande wrote to President APJ Abdul Kalam, saying that many questions remain unanswered with regard to Afzal’s trial. Those who question the fairness of Afzal's trial, point to some letters Afzal reportedly wrote to give his version of the story.
But then, do those campaigning for Afzal's clemency have all the facts before them? Are they sure that the contents of Afzal's letters are true? CNN-IBN Special Investigation Team found out that some crucial details are missing from Afzal's letters.
On the question of his past, Afzal does say that he is a surrendered militant. So does the Delhi Police and the Supreme Court. But his elder brother says he never surrendered.
"Yes," he insists. In letters that he is supposed to have written to his lawyer, Afzal said he was regularly tortured by the Kashmir Special Task Force (STF). And those arguing in his favour insist that the STF used his militant past to make him a scapegoat in the Parliament attack case.
But investigations conducted by CNN-IBN’s Special Investigation Team, revealed that Afzal may have never surrendered.
"Till now, they don’t know who attacked Parliament. Who were those five people who were inside and got killed? Mr (L K) Advani, who was the Union Home Minister at that point of time, said that they looked like Pakistanis. They are Pakistanis. I say that Mr Advani looks like a Pakistani and Musharaff looks like an Indian to me. So, this is no proof," says S A R Geelani, a Delhi University lecturer who was acquitted in the case.
Geelani has joined those who are opposing the death sentence given to Afzal. Veteran Gandhian Nirmala Despande wrote to President APJ Abdul Kalam, saying that many questions remain unanswered with regard to Afzal’s trial. Those who question the fairness of Afzal's trial, point to some letters Afzal reportedly wrote to give his version of the story.
But then, do those campaigning for Afzal's clemency have all the facts before them? Are they sure that the contents of Afzal's letters are true? CNN-IBN Special Investigation Team found out that some crucial details are missing from Afzal's letters.
On the question of his past, Afzal does say that he is a surrendered militant. So does the Delhi Police and the Supreme Court. But his elder brother says he never surrendered.
Decoding Afzal: Truth is out there
Is Mohammad Afzal a terrorist? What was his role in the attack on Parliament on December 13, 2001?
Is it true that some elements of the Jammu and Kashmir Special Task Force were involved in the conspiracy and it was they who framed Afzal in the case?
Are those campaigning for Afzal’s clemency fully assured of his innocence? And finally are both the police and Afzal hiding some crucial information that the country should know?
These are questions that the CNN-IBN Special Investigation Team tries to address in Decoding Afzal. The team went to Jammu and Kashmir to find answers to these questions that the country has been debating.
On December 13, 2001, when five terrorists attacked Parliament, the heart of Indian democracy, at 1140 hours IST, the security forces responded quickly and all the attackers were killed.
Maulana Masood Ahzar, the head of the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), was identified as the mastermind of the attack along with JeM's Kashmir chief Ghazi Baba. Baba was later killed in an encounter on August 30, 2003.
The investigating agencies, tasked with probing the Parliament attack case, arrested four persons accused of conspiring with the terrorists and put them on trial by December 16, 2001.
S A R Geelani, a professor of Arabic Studies at the Delhi University, was sentenced to death by a Sessions Court. However, he was acquitted by the Delhi High Court on October 29, 2003. Afsana Guru, alias Navjot, was also acquitted.
Her husband, Shaukat Hussain Guru, was sentenced to death, but the Supreme Court later commuted it to 10 years. But both the High Court and the Supreme Court upheld the verdict on Afzal, sentencing him to death by hanging.
Is it true that some elements of the Jammu and Kashmir Special Task Force were involved in the conspiracy and it was they who framed Afzal in the case?
Are those campaigning for Afzal’s clemency fully assured of his innocence? And finally are both the police and Afzal hiding some crucial information that the country should know?
These are questions that the CNN-IBN Special Investigation Team tries to address in Decoding Afzal. The team went to Jammu and Kashmir to find answers to these questions that the country has been debating.
On December 13, 2001, when five terrorists attacked Parliament, the heart of Indian democracy, at 1140 hours IST, the security forces responded quickly and all the attackers were killed.
Maulana Masood Ahzar, the head of the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), was identified as the mastermind of the attack along with JeM's Kashmir chief Ghazi Baba. Baba was later killed in an encounter on August 30, 2003.
The investigating agencies, tasked with probing the Parliament attack case, arrested four persons accused of conspiring with the terrorists and put them on trial by December 16, 2001.
S A R Geelani, a professor of Arabic Studies at the Delhi University, was sentenced to death by a Sessions Court. However, he was acquitted by the Delhi High Court on October 29, 2003. Afsana Guru, alias Navjot, was also acquitted.
Her husband, Shaukat Hussain Guru, was sentenced to death, but the Supreme Court later commuted it to 10 years. But both the High Court and the Supreme Court upheld the verdict on Afzal, sentencing him to death by hanging.
Another hostile witness in Prof case
It's a murder that took place in front of hundreds of people. Yet no one really "saw" Professor Sabharwal being killed.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Chauhan called Prof Sabharwal's murder an accident, ostensibly to shield the leaders of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad. He also claimed that no FIR was lodged in the case.
The second most important witness in the Professor Sabharwal murder case has turned hostile
in Court.
Manohar Singh Dodia, physical education instructor at Madhav College, was witness to the assault on Sabharwal by ABVP leaders. But in court Dodia turned hostile.
CNN-IBN Special Investigation Team set out to find the contradictions in his court statement.
In court Dodia said he was not aware of ABVP leaders entering the college to meet Principal Verma, but this is how he gave his account of the incident on the hidden camera:
“ABVP wale aaye uss gate se unhe laya gaya 2 number se. 2 number se leke aaye usko. Tehsildar aur jo bhi kayi prashasnik adhikari the. Yeah bechare policewale ki toh koi aukat hi nahi. yeh toh kuch kar bhi nahi sakte the. (ABVP activists were brought in through gate number 2 by the Tehsildar and other government officials, the local police did not do anything about it),” Dodia narrates.
So, not only did Dodia see the ABVP mob enter, he also underlined how the local police were
powerless to stop them.
In court Dodia also denied that Sabharwal left the college from gate number 2 with the help of Komal Singh, a college peon. But on hidden camera, Dodia actually stood at gate number 2 and told us how Sabharwal exited from that very gate.
Dodia says, “APVP wale aaye, taala khulaye, sir ne dekha ki taala khula hua hai, Komal ko bole meri gaadi nikaaal de (ABVP activists came and got the gate opened. Sir saw the gate was open and asked Komal to take out his vehicle.)”
Dodia then recalls how moments later, Sabharwal was assaulted just outside the gate.
“Utni der mein Komal Singh ne sir ko bahar nikal diya aur taala laga diya. Fir Komal singh ko laga ki jaise sir ko gher liya hai to Komal singh bhaga aaya. (Komal Singh let Sabharwal out and locked the gate. Komal then saw sir being surrounded and came running.),” Dodia recalls.
But the biggest inconsistency in Dodia's court statement is his denial that either he or Komal Simgh had tried to protect the Professor as he was assaulted. Here's what he told this investigation:
“Komal aur hum do hi bachaya tha to maine jaise hi dekha ki pade hue hain hai to main yun gaya aur yun upar se jhuk gaya ki ab koi maare nahi unko. (Komal and I only saved him. When I saw him lying there I leaned over him to protect him from further assault.)” says Dodia.
ABVP activists were escorted out by the Police from the gate number 2 of Madhav College.
Around the same time Professor Sabharwal, too, moved out of this gate and came face to face with ABVP activists who beat him to death in front of many eye witnesses none of whom now want to come forward and testify in the Court.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Chauhan called Prof Sabharwal's murder an accident, ostensibly to shield the leaders of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad. He also claimed that no FIR was lodged in the case.
The second most important witness in the Professor Sabharwal murder case has turned hostile
in Court.
Manohar Singh Dodia, physical education instructor at Madhav College, was witness to the assault on Sabharwal by ABVP leaders. But in court Dodia turned hostile.
CNN-IBN Special Investigation Team set out to find the contradictions in his court statement.
In court Dodia said he was not aware of ABVP leaders entering the college to meet Principal Verma, but this is how he gave his account of the incident on the hidden camera:
“ABVP wale aaye uss gate se unhe laya gaya 2 number se. 2 number se leke aaye usko. Tehsildar aur jo bhi kayi prashasnik adhikari the. Yeah bechare policewale ki toh koi aukat hi nahi. yeh toh kuch kar bhi nahi sakte the. (ABVP activists were brought in through gate number 2 by the Tehsildar and other government officials, the local police did not do anything about it),” Dodia narrates.
So, not only did Dodia see the ABVP mob enter, he also underlined how the local police were
powerless to stop them.
In court Dodia also denied that Sabharwal left the college from gate number 2 with the help of Komal Singh, a college peon. But on hidden camera, Dodia actually stood at gate number 2 and told us how Sabharwal exited from that very gate.
Dodia says, “APVP wale aaye, taala khulaye, sir ne dekha ki taala khula hua hai, Komal ko bole meri gaadi nikaaal de (ABVP activists came and got the gate opened. Sir saw the gate was open and asked Komal to take out his vehicle.)”
Dodia then recalls how moments later, Sabharwal was assaulted just outside the gate.
“Utni der mein Komal Singh ne sir ko bahar nikal diya aur taala laga diya. Fir Komal singh ko laga ki jaise sir ko gher liya hai to Komal singh bhaga aaya. (Komal Singh let Sabharwal out and locked the gate. Komal then saw sir being surrounded and came running.),” Dodia recalls.
But the biggest inconsistency in Dodia's court statement is his denial that either he or Komal Simgh had tried to protect the Professor as he was assaulted. Here's what he told this investigation:
“Komal aur hum do hi bachaya tha to maine jaise hi dekha ki pade hue hain hai to main yun gaya aur yun upar se jhuk gaya ki ab koi maare nahi unko. (Komal and I only saved him. When I saw him lying there I leaned over him to protect him from further assault.)” says Dodia.
ABVP activists were escorted out by the Police from the gate number 2 of Madhav College.
Around the same time Professor Sabharwal, too, moved out of this gate and came face to face with ABVP activists who beat him to death in front of many eye witnesses none of whom now want to come forward and testify in the Court.
MP ex-CM furious with Prof probe
A CNN-IBN expose showing the accused in the Sabharwal murder getting VIP treatment in Ujjain Central Jail - even as key witnesses confessed to turning hostile under police pressure - is drawing sharp reactions.
Former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Digvijay Singh said, “This government in MP is totally being run by the RSS and ABVP being a student wing of RSS is totally involved and from the very beginning we have been approaching the courts that this case is fit to be given to the CBI.”
Earlier on Wednesday a CNN-IBN Special Investigation showed how Komal Singh, key eyewitness in the Sabharwal case was pressured to change his statement in the court.
"Iss jila ka SP humpe attack karta hai ki tunme hi mar diya hoga. Voh bolta tha ki tumhara college ke staff ne hi tumhara khilaf gavahi dedi hogi, (The CP now accuses us of being the killers of Prof Sabharwal. He says the college stuff have given testimony against us)," Komal Singh says.
This Investigation also went undercover into Ujjain central jail to meet the main accused Shashiranjan Akela.
Our team found Akela and his co-accused Vimal Tomar and Hemant Dubey getting VIP treatment in jail. BJP workers too seemed free to visit them even in jail.
The Opposition says the state is conspiring to protect the ABVP leaders who stand accused of Sabharwal's murder.
Leader of Opposition Jamuna Devi says, “yeah toh hum pehle bhi keh chuke hai.Mukha Mantri ji ne isko hadsa keh tha toh vahi se shuruvat ho gayi thi.ki iss case mai puri tarah lipa-poti ho rahi hai.aur police bhi lipa-poti kar rahi hai.unko VIP treatment diya ja raha hai jail mai.toh yeah toh sajish hai unko bachane ki. (The Chief Minister called it an accident. This proved that investigations are being botched up. Police is also involved. They are protecting the accused by giving them VIP treatment in jail.)
The accused get VIP treatment in jail, while eyewitnesses face police threats - the pattern is familiar.
The Sabharwal case shows just how badly our legal system needs an effective witness protection program, to make sure that political pressure does not prevent the delivery of justice.
Former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Digvijay Singh said, “This government in MP is totally being run by the RSS and ABVP being a student wing of RSS is totally involved and from the very beginning we have been approaching the courts that this case is fit to be given to the CBI.”
Earlier on Wednesday a CNN-IBN Special Investigation showed how Komal Singh, key eyewitness in the Sabharwal case was pressured to change his statement in the court.
"Iss jila ka SP humpe attack karta hai ki tunme hi mar diya hoga. Voh bolta tha ki tumhara college ke staff ne hi tumhara khilaf gavahi dedi hogi, (The CP now accuses us of being the killers of Prof Sabharwal. He says the college stuff have given testimony against us)," Komal Singh says.
This Investigation also went undercover into Ujjain central jail to meet the main accused Shashiranjan Akela.
Our team found Akela and his co-accused Vimal Tomar and Hemant Dubey getting VIP treatment in jail. BJP workers too seemed free to visit them even in jail.
The Opposition says the state is conspiring to protect the ABVP leaders who stand accused of Sabharwal's murder.
Leader of Opposition Jamuna Devi says, “yeah toh hum pehle bhi keh chuke hai.Mukha Mantri ji ne isko hadsa keh tha toh vahi se shuruvat ho gayi thi.ki iss case mai puri tarah lipa-poti ho rahi hai.aur police bhi lipa-poti kar rahi hai.unko VIP treatment diya ja raha hai jail mai.toh yeah toh sajish hai unko bachane ki. (The Chief Minister called it an accident. This proved that investigations are being botched up. Police is also involved. They are protecting the accused by giving them VIP treatment in jail.)
The accused get VIP treatment in jail, while eyewitnesses face police threats - the pattern is familiar.
The Sabharwal case shows just how badly our legal system needs an effective witness protection program, to make sure that political pressure does not prevent the delivery of justice.
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