Mumbai: The office Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently directed the Union Home Ministry to look into the corruption allegations levelled against Nandkumar Nair, the Mumbai unit chief of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Nair is accused of accepting bribe from journalists of a national channel and divulging details of several right-wing Hindus, who are named in several cases of ‘saffron terror.’ He is also accused of endangering the safety and security of citizens and nation. The allegations against Nair were made by Hemant Chalke, a Sanatan Sanstha sympathiser and also an acquitted accused in the 2008 Thane theatre blast case.
According to Chalke, in September, few men approached him and offered to finance any ‘important or big task’, which he desires to take up. “When I persisted to know, they told me that they are so eager to get into touch with persons accused of saffron terror and to help them that they did not mind spending amounts for this. They even said that they have paid Rs 10 lakh to Nair to get entire files and records of Thane-Vashi-Panvel blast case, Malegaon blast case and Dabholkar-Pansare murder case which is available with Nair,” Chalke said.
Sensing something fishy, Chalke contacted his lawyers in Mumbai and told these men to get in touch with his advocates for a meeting. “Subsequently, there was a sting video of Mangesh Nikam and Haribhau Divekar, who were my co-accused in the theatres’ bomb blast case. I learnt that these were journalists,” Chalke has stated in his letter, sent to the PMO.
The six-page letter, further states, “When my lawyer wrote complaints, the effort was made to offer money to my lawyer. The two persons in photographs indeed visited different accused persons by travelling long distances. These two persons were ready to pay money if the Hindu accused persons take up some bigger or important task which obviously hinted at some terror activity.”
Taking a cue from the claims made by these ‘two men’ of paying a hefty amount to Nair, Chalke has sought a probe against the officer. “The statements that they paid Rs 10 lakh to Nair amounts to an admission of an offence/crime committed by them. It is strange as to how they got details of all accused persons including their addresses and contact numbers when the numbers and places of residence of all accused persons have now changed. If they say that they have obtained the details from Nair, there must be substance in their claim,” the complaint reads.
“It is prima facie apparent that Nair abused his position for pecuniary gain and the persons associated with the channel, obtained official documents from him by paying a bribe and thereafter utilized these documents for acts amounting to abetment of terror acts from persons who were earlier accused of terrorist activities. Thus, Nair has indulged in an act of endangering the safety of the state by parting with sensitive documents and this is also an act of conspiracy amongst all the aforesaid persons,” the complaint further reads.