Santanu Saikia, a former journalist and now an energy consultant running a website, who has been arrested by the Delhi Police in connection with the Oil Ministry document theft case, said on Saturday that he was trying to uncover a Rs. 10,000-crore scam.
“I am being framed. Please quote me on this,” Mr. Saikia told presspersons who gathered outside the Crime Branch office here as policemen took him in for interrogation.
His statement has come at a time when the police said the documents seized from corporate executives related to “national security” could attract provisions of the Official Secrets Act.
Reacting to his claim, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said Saikia was trying for a cover-up. “Let him spill out all the information he has. The primary accusation is that somebody stole the papers from the Ministry. Police are investigating. Anybody has the right to tell everything to the police,” he said.