In the disproportionate assets case, the CBI has finalised the chargesheet against the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh Virbhadra Singh and his family members after its probe found that Rs. 10 crore of ill-gotten assets were allegedly raised during his time as the Union Minister.
Last year, the CBI had registered an FIR to probe allegations that CM Virbhadra Singh had allegedly collected over Rs. 6 crore of disproportionate assets. According to the sources a agency on Tuesday that the CBI has concluded that the figure is around Rs. 10 crore.
The CBI said that the agency had started an inquiry alleging that Singh had accumulated disproportionate assets worth Rs. 6.03 crore (approx) in the name of his family members’ name as the Union Minister during the year 2009-2012(UPA rule).
But, Singh refuted the allegations strongly.
CBI sources said that the findings of an year-long probe, which is almost complete, alleges that a complex web of investments, Share purchased, property, and unsecured loans, besides false claims of agriculture income were used to camouflage the assets which were disproportionate to known sources of his income.
They said that the agency will soon move to High Court of Delhi seeking permission to file the chargesheet in the case of disproportionate assets.
The FIR had named Chief minister of Himachal Pradesh Virbhadra Singh, his wife Pratibha Singh, LIC agent Chunni Lal Chauhan and Anand Chauhan.
The spokesperson of CBI in a statement had said that Singh had invested his unaccounted income in LIC policies in his name and his wife’s name and other family members also through a private person by showing the same as agricultural income.
The CBI claimed that an Memorandum of Understandings was signed on 15th June 2008 between Singh and Chauhan for the maintenance of an apple orchard for 3 years.
CBI had alleged in FIR that LIC agent Chauhan had deposited around Rs. 5 crore in his own bank account and debited the same through cheques for purchasing various LIC policies in their names.
CBI now claims that Pratibha who is the wife of Singh had given the money in cash to Chauhan to be invested in 11 LIC policies.T
The sources said that over 8 policies worth Rs. 4.4 crore matured from which a property was purchased in Greater Kailash, Delhi worth over Rs. 5 crore.
CBI has now alleged that V Chandrasekhar who is another associate of Singh had provided Rs. 80 lakhs in the property purchase
The agency said that Singh attempted to legitimise the same as agricultural income by filing revised ITRs in 2012 showing an increment from Rs 45 lakh which claimed in the Income Tax Returns of 2009-10, 2010-11, and 2011-12, to Rs 5.1 core in the revised Returns as earned from sale of apples from Srikhand Orchards to United Apple Associates, Pawanoo.
The sources claimed that the agency got the orchard examined by experts of Indian Agriculture Research Institute. The experts said in their report that it could not have produced apples worth Rs. 5 crore which were mentioned in the revised ITRs of Singh.
