New Delhi: The CBI may register a “preliminary enquiry” (PE) to probe the alleged detection of unaccounted cash of about Rs 281 crores during income-tax raids at the houses of close aides of Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath and others in April.
“The CBI has received a formal complaint from the Election Commission via the department of personnel and training, which oversees the probe agency. The agency may register a PE first to probe the allegations. Based on the outcome of the PE, the CBI will decide whether a regular case can be registered or not,” a source said. However, CBI officials are now tightlipped about developments and are not divulging any details.
A “preliminary enquiry” is the first step by the CBI to gather information about any allegations. If the agency is convinced that there is prima facie material in the matter, it may register a regular case against the accused.
The Election Commission, after getting a report from the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), had written to the government seeking a probe into the matter. “Searches in Madhya Pradesh detected a widespread and well-organised racket of collection of unaccounted cash of about Rs 281 crores through various persons in different walks of life, including business, politics and public service. A part of the cash was also transferred to the headquarters of a major political party in Delhi, including about Rs 20 crores, which was moved through hawala recently to the headquarters of the political party from the residence of a senior functionary at Tughlaq Road, New Delhi,” the CBDT said in its report. The report added that the records of collection and disbursement of cash in the form of handwritten diaries, computer files and Excel sheets were found and seized and it corroborates these findings.
