Goons and white-collared criminals enjoy the protection of not just in the States of UP and Bihar. Penetrate a little inside the working of corridors of power and you would find the same happening in Delhi. Even the supposedly clean white-collared and white-dressed profession of Indian army could not wipe out the accusations of shady deals.
Former naval chief Adml. Arun Prakash’s wife’s nephew Ravi Shankaran, key accused in the naval war room leak case, is being ‘protected’ by Ministry of External Affairs, which has been reluctant to approach the British authorities for extradition despite the request of CBI pending with it for about 8 months.
Shankaran is a declared absconder and said to be the main link between the secrets leaked from the naval war room and the Rs. 18,898-crore Scorpene deal. Yet, his ‘high connections’ enabled him to sneak out of the country. Who could have stopped him from doing so when key men in the army were his backers?
Consequent to his escape, the CBI requested the MEA on two occasions, viz. May 18, 2006 and Oct. 27, 2006. Even Interpol issued a red corner notice against him on May 12, but MEA, under the stewardship of Pranab Mukherjee, is sitting on the request even though under the provisions of Article 12 of the Indo-UK extradition treaty, the Government of Indian can seek his arrest and subsequent deportation to India.
Such is the sensitive and explosive nature of evidence available with CBI that when it submitted 369 pages of classified data, including crucial file notings and procurement-related information, to Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Seema Maini, it handed them in a sealed packet with the plea that it be kept in her safe custody and not be made public. It is believed that these documents could cause severe embarrassment to the defence establishment as they prove that Abhishek Verma, retired naval officer Kulbhushan Parashar and Ravi Shankaran were tapping ministry of defence officials for classified information. Sources reveal that the three were passing the documents relating to the army and navy’s weapon and equipment requirements to international armament firms. CBI’s chargesheet says clearly these people were “spying on behalf of several multinational firms” and were inciting defence personnel to spy on their behalf. So far, the CBI has tracked Rs. 6.2 crore which, the agency alleges, was paid as bribes to defence personnel.
It was in May 2005 that the IAF’s intelligence wing found that secret information was being leaked from the navy’s war room. While navy headquarters dismissed three allegedly involved officers without a showcause notice or a trial, no action was taken against the civilian recipients of the data, including Ravi Shankaran.
Unless Shankaran is arrested and brought back, some of the vital links in the investigation relating to Scorpene deal will continue to elude the investigating agencies. This puts question mark on the Governments’ willingness to bring back the key accused. The irony of ironies is that the same people who left no stone unturned to pressurize the Mulayam Singh government to give the Nithari killings case to CBI are attempting to strangulate the CBI in its attempt to bring back the key accused who has also been declared an absconder.
Former naval chief Adml. Arun Prakash’s wife’s nephew Ravi Shankaran, key accused in the naval war room leak case, is being ‘protected’ by Ministry of External Affairs, which has been reluctant to approach the British authorities for extradition despite the request of CBI pending with it for about 8 months.
Shankaran is a declared absconder and said to be the main link between the secrets leaked from the naval war room and the Rs. 18,898-crore Scorpene deal. Yet, his ‘high connections’ enabled him to sneak out of the country. Who could have stopped him from doing so when key men in the army were his backers?
Consequent to his escape, the CBI requested the MEA on two occasions, viz. May 18, 2006 and Oct. 27, 2006. Even Interpol issued a red corner notice against him on May 12, but MEA, under the stewardship of Pranab Mukherjee, is sitting on the request even though under the provisions of Article 12 of the Indo-UK extradition treaty, the Government of Indian can seek his arrest and subsequent deportation to India.
Such is the sensitive and explosive nature of evidence available with CBI that when it submitted 369 pages of classified data, including crucial file notings and procurement-related information, to Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Seema Maini, it handed them in a sealed packet with the plea that it be kept in her safe custody and not be made public. It is believed that these documents could cause severe embarrassment to the defence establishment as they prove that Abhishek Verma, retired naval officer Kulbhushan Parashar and Ravi Shankaran were tapping ministry of defence officials for classified information. Sources reveal that the three were passing the documents relating to the army and navy’s weapon and equipment requirements to international armament firms. CBI’s chargesheet says clearly these people were “spying on behalf of several multinational firms” and were inciting defence personnel to spy on their behalf. So far, the CBI has tracked Rs. 6.2 crore which, the agency alleges, was paid as bribes to defence personnel.
It was in May 2005 that the IAF’s intelligence wing found that secret information was being leaked from the navy’s war room. While navy headquarters dismissed three allegedly involved officers without a showcause notice or a trial, no action was taken against the civilian recipients of the data, including Ravi Shankaran.
Unless Shankaran is arrested and brought back, some of the vital links in the investigation relating to Scorpene deal will continue to elude the investigating agencies. This puts question mark on the Governments’ willingness to bring back the key accused. The irony of ironies is that the same people who left no stone unturned to pressurize the Mulayam Singh government to give the Nithari killings case to CBI are attempting to strangulate the CBI in its attempt to bring back the key accused who has also been declared an absconder.
No comments:
Post a Comment