In audio, Gupta claims to be calling from Bansal’s house

LUCKNOW: The bribery row involving the chief minister’s principal secretary has taken a fresh twist with a leaked audio conversation. The audio tape reveals city businessman Abhishek Gupta allegedly posing as an aide of BJP’s organisational general

secretary Sunil Bansal while speaking to a staff of the CM office to sort out the land issue for his petrol pump.

In April, Gupta had complained to Governor Ram Naik against principal secretary SP Goyal, saying the bureaucrat had demanded Rs 25 lakh from him to allot a piece of land which would enable him to set up a petrol pump. Following Gupta’s complaint, Naik had written a letter to the CM for probe.

Although the veracity of the audio clip couldn’t be checked, the Lucknow police has reportedly used the same as initial evidence to slap charges of cheating, impersonation and defamation on Gupta. Last week, when the governor’s letter surfaced, the CM office alerted BJP headquarters that Gupta was dropping Bansal’s name. The BJP office lodged an FIR against him and he was detained on Friday morning. He was released by the same evening after he gave a written apology that he was mentally disturbed after his application for additional land for his proposed petrol pump was rejected.

He also admitted to have levelled false allegations against Goyal. His arrest triggered a political slugfest between the BJP and the combined Opposition.

Leaked audio tape strengthens BJP’s impersonation charge against Gupta

While the Opposition parties said that instead of probing the allegation, the government was targeting the whistleblower, this audio tape strengthened BJP’s claim that Gupta was impersonating as Bansal’s aide.

In the conversation, Gupta is allegedly telling CM’s special secretary Shubhrant Shukla: “Hello,

Shuhrant Shukla ji bol rahe hai? Main bhaisaab, Abhishek bol raha hoon. Manniya Bansal ji ke yahan se. Yeh ek petrol pump ka ek prastav gaya tha. Zameen ke vinmay ka

(Hello, is this Shubhrant Shukla? I am Abhishek. I am calling from Bansal ji’s office. There was a proposal for a petrol pump and land transfer.) Gupta then tells Shukla that he had met Goyal but four queries had been placed over the file, resulting in the rejection. He can then be heard dropping names.

Shukla keeps telling him that he must meet the CM to raise his grievance and that his request will be strictly considered within the purview of government.

The UP police said that the conversation would be sent for a forensic examination. “We have the audio evidence. He admitted to his voice and conversation. It was on the same basis as well as the complaint forwarded by BJP UP officebearer Bharat Dikshit that an FIR on impersonation charges was registered against him. But we certainly believe that the man has been facing some problem regarding his business since 2014. Which is why we took a lenient view and did not arrest him. He, in fact, has sought security and is disturbed. We have only helped him with security,” said Lucknow SSP Deepak Kumar.

Sources in the police department said that the government was also keen on taking a lenient view on Gupta while keeping his medical condition in view.