The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probing the multi-crore Adarsh society scam recorded the statements of Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade and her retired IAS officer father Uttam Khobragade in connection with the case.
The agency, which is likely to file its second supplementary charge-sheet pertaining to the benami transaction by the end of this month, may also mention the ownership status of all the remaining members. In March, the CBI had submitted its first supplementary charge-sheet on benami transactions against 22 society members and 24 financiers.
Ms. Khobragade has reportedly told the agency that as she was posted abroad at the time of purchase of the property and had handed over the Power of Attorney (POA) of the flat to her father, Mr. Uttam Khobragade. Her father had executed all the formalities on her behalf. Mr. Uttam Khobragade has told the agency that he stands by the contents of the affidavit filed by him to be ‘true’ and ‘correct’.
In the affidavit, Mr. Khobragade stated that while applying for a flat in Adarsh society his daughter was not an ‘owner’ of any other flat in Mumbai limits and hence eligible to apply.
The report of the inquiry commission probing the Adarsh Society scam had found that Ms. Khobragade was ineligible to purchase the flat. The report said that Ms.Khobragade already owned another flat in the suburb of Oshiwara, which comes under the jurisdiction of the Mumbai municipal corporation, thereby violating the eligibility criteria.
The CBI’s legal team is vetting their statements to decide the legal course of action against them. “We are taking a legal view if being a ‘member’ is equivalent to being an ‘owner’ and thereby not being eligible to apply in the same collectorate,” a senior CBI officer told The Hindu .
When contacted, Mr. Khobragade said that he was not summoned by the agency but submitted the documents of his own accord after news items that his daughter is being probed by CBI appeared.
“I told the CBI that in July 2004 when I filed the affidavit, I was just a member of Meera CHS. Four years later in May 2008, when I received a communication from Adarsh society accepting my membership, I immediately resigned from Meera CHS,” Mr. Khobragade told The Hindu .
The agency has also sought legal opinion if a separate case needs to be made out against the 25 owners who were found ineligible. “The case against them is civil and not criminal in nature,”another official added.
