Jammu and Kashmir BJP president Ravinder Raina and two other senior leaders were given clean chits by the party’s internal fact-finding commission in the alleged case of offering bribes to journalists in Leh to influence the recently held parliamentary polls in Ladakh.
“The BJP leaders have not done anything wrong and whatever charges have been levelled against them are totally false and baseless,” the three-member commission headed by Justice (retd) G.D. Sharma said in its report, released by the party here on Thursday.
The State unit of the Congress, however, rejected the probe and termed it an attempt by the party to influence police investigation.
The commission was constituted last month on the directions of BJP national president Amit Shah.
The commission, whose other members include former IGP S.S. Bijral as member and Pallav Sharma as member-secretary, has given clean chits to Mr. Raina, State party general secretary Narinder Singh and MLC Vikram Randhawa as it found that they did not, in any manner, whatsoever, misconducted themselves to seek favour in any form.
On May 4, the Press Club, Leh, had accused the BJP of trying to bribe its members by offering “envelopes filled with money” after a press conference on May 2, a charge denied by the party which had said allegations were “politically motivated”.
Statements recorded
The commission said it recorded statements of journalists, persons associated with the Press Club, local leaders and examined CCTV footage besides recording the statement of the accused BJP leaders.
The commission said it was established beyond any manner of doubt that the allegations of giving bribe by the MLC in the presence of Mr. Raina, Mr. Singh and district president, Leh, Dorje Angchuk is the result of afterthought and forms a part of criminal conspiracy as defined under Section 120-A of RPC.
“The proof of giving or accepting illegal gratification is the raison d’etre of the offence of bribery, which ingredient is missing in this case,” the commission said.
The police had on May 9 registered an FIR against the BJP leaders in connection with bribe allegations on the directions of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Leh.