Uttarakhand sting video case: CBI to quiz Harish Rawat

New Delhi: The CBI is all set to question former chief minister of Uttarakhand Harish Rawat in connection with its investigation into his alleged role in a 2016 sting video that purportedly showed him negotiating a deal to buy the support of rebel MLAs.

According to sources, the Central probe agency is expected to issue summons to Mr Rawat for questioning in a day or two. “The agency is expected to question the former chief minister of Uttarakhand next week. The agency is likely to issue summons for questioning by the end of this week”, sources said. The role of at least two former Congress MLAs is also being probed by the agency, sources said adding the agency will also question his the then Cabinet colleague Harak Singh Rawat, who is now a member of the state’s BJP-led government, in connection with the case.

The CBI had filed an FIR against Harish Rawat and Harak Singh Rawat for the alleged attempts of horse trading in 2016, which was caught on tape by an editor of a news channel. The CBI had registered a preliminary enquiry to probe the alleged horse trading attempt on March 23, 2016 when the state was under President’s rule.

It sent the tape to the Forensic Science Laboratory, Gandhinagar, for analysis which opined that the recording was “genuine”. The Uttarakhand high court had given its nod to the CBI to go ahead with its investigation in the case and lodge an FIR against Rawat after the agency submitted a report in a sealed cover on the preliminary inquiry.