I-T raids on Kamal Nath aides: How Centre misled state intel on CRPF movement

BHOPAL: When a company of 150 CRPF jawans were moving down to Madhya Pradesh from Delhi on Saturday, state intelligence officials had got an hint, but little did they knew that it was going to guard biggest crackdown on close aides of chief minister Kamal Nath.

Sources say, when state intillegence unit sought explanation from the Centre on mobilisation of CRPF towards MP, they were told that it was for elections and for some “collaborative” work.

“Collaborative work was not explained in the written communication” said an official privy to communication between state and the centre adding intelligence unit was misled about the strategic ‘crackdown’ which started simultaneously at around 23 locations in MP and 20 in Goa and Delhi around 3 am.

Searches are being carried out at residential and office premises of CM Kamal Nath’s secretary Praveen Kakkar at Indore and Bhopal where around Rs 9 cr have been confiscated in cash so far, said sources.



Two houses at Ansal Apartment in Bhopal and a flat in Platinum Plaza -which belongs to Ashwin Sharma, is also being searched. Searches are underway. Documents pertaining to investments by some IAS and IPS officers have allegedly been found at one of the locations.

The Income Tax Department on Sunday launched pre-dawn searches on at least 50 locations in Delhi and Madhya Pradesh against people linked to Kamal Nath on charges of alleged tax evasion, officials said.

A team of about 200 I-T department and police officers swooped down on these premises around 3 am and some undisclosed cash was recovered, they said.

The searches are linked to suspected movement of hawala money during the ongoing polls season and tax evasion, they said.



Locations in Indore, Bhopal and Delhi (Green Park) were being raided and those being searched included Nath's former Officer on Special Duty (OSD) Pravin Kakkar, former adviser Rajendra Miglani, executives linked to his brother-in-law's firm and his nephew Ratul Puri's company, they said.

Both Kakkar and Miglani resigned from their posts just before the Lok Sabha polls were declared.




In Indore, the raids were conducted by a team of officials, who arrived from Delhi, at Kakkad's residence in Vijay Nagar area and other places associated with him, sources in the I-T department said.

Searches were also conducted at Kakkad's house in Bhopal's Nadir Colony and a couple of other places in the state capital, they said.

They said documents seized during the searches were being scrutinised in detail.



Raids are also being conducted against Kolkata- based businessman Paras Mal Lodha, the sources added.

Kakkad, a former Madhya Pradesh police officer, was appointed OSD to Nath after the Congress-led government came to power in the state last year.

He earlier served as OSD to former Union minister Kantilal Bhuria during the UPA regime.

Bhuria is contesting the upcoming Lok Sabha poll from Ratlam-Jhabua seat in MP.

Kakkad's family is associated with a number of businesses, including hospitality.

Ratul Puri was last week grilled by the Enforcement Directorate in Delhi in connection with the Rs 3,6000 AgustaWestland helicopters purchase probe.

Reacting to the raids, a Congress leader in MP accused the BJP-led central government of targeting opposition leaders for "political vendetta".

MP Congress' media cell vice president Bhupendra Gupta, also a former OSD to Nath, charged, "The BJP government has been targeting opposition leaders across the country due to political enmity. Due to such act of political vendetta, Andhra Pradesh chief minister (N Chandrababu Naidu) and DMK leader M K Stalin had to stage protest against the Centre."

However, the BJP hit back, saying thieves were now having a complaint against the 'watchman'.

"Black money worth crores was recovered during the Income Tax department's raid at the house of private secretary of Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath. This has made one thing clear that those who are thieves have a complaint against the watchman," BJP's national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya said.

(With PTI inputs)