The Central Bureau of Investigation has summoned a senior Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) official for questioning in the corporate espionage case, in which a Commerce Ministry clerk was arrested on Monday for alleged theft and sale of foreign investment policy papers.
“The RIL official had links with the main accused Khemchand Gandhi, the Mumbai-based chartered accountant earlier arrested in the case for purportedly procuring the classified documents stolen from the Ministries of Finance and Commerce,” said a CBI official. The official had been asked to appear before the investigating team on Wednesday. The RIL official, who is currently posted in Mumbai, has been summoned to clarify the nature of his relationship with Mr. Gandhi. “It is not yet clear if the official had any incriminating role,” said the CBI official.
The agency did not reveal the name of the official.
An RIL spokesman told The Hindu : “We have not received any summons from CBI.” About a month ago, the Delhi Police arrested RIL manager (corporate affairs) Shailesh Saxena along with representatives of four other top business houses, Essar, Cairn India, Jubilant Energy and Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group in another corporate espionage case.
The CBI on Monday arrested Daljeet Singh, an Upper Division Clerk with the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion under the Commerce Ministry, for his alleged involvement in leaking sensitive government documents. Six people, including three government officials, have been arrested in the case so far. CBI sources said the agency had also summoned Rajendra Chitale, managing partner of Chitale & Associates, whose partner Paresh Chimanlal Buddhadeb has already been arrested for allegedly procuring and destroying classified documents.
According to the CBI, a manager with PricewaterhouseCoopers India was also questioned last week to clarify why exactly the consultancy firm had obtained government documents related to companies that were not its clients.
