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'DNA' Investigations: More shells behind Purti; BJP stands by Nitin Gadkari

Kandois of Kolkata recently said they no longer have any connection with Purti or Gadkari after their companies exited PPSL in 2009; but DNA found that the Kandois are listed as directors in the third level of shareholding firms.

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After evidence that a number of shell companies invested heavily in Gadkari’s Purti Power and Sugar Ltd (PPSL), it now appears that these companies were themselves funded by a third layer of firms with little or no business activity apart from channelling funds.

This comes even as late night reports from Delhi indicated that BJP president Nitin Gadkari, besieged with allegations of dubious business dealings, has offered to resign from the post of the party’s national president. Till the time of going to press, the BJP top brass was huddled in a meeting at Gadkari’s Delhi home.
It has been reported earlier that five investor firms exited Gadkari’s Purti in 2009, and these five firms were also shareholder-owners of other investor firms.

So, while 18 investor firms are believed to together own about 70% of PPSL, these 18 are themselves owned by a third layer of firms, also apparently shell companies sharing the same pool of common directors and common addresses.

This maze of firms holding shares in PPSL’s investor firms include Anantika Infrastructure Pvt Ltd, Cathy Infrastructure Pvt Ltd, Roller Multitrade Pvt Ltd, Sanobar Infrastructure Pvt Ltd and Vidya Buildcon Pvt Ltd, five firms that used to hold shares of PPSL.
Of these, Anantika Infrastructure, Roller Multitrade, Cathy Infrastructure and Vidya Buildcon were four of the five shareholders of Seven-Eleven Sales and Marketing Pvt Ltd, one of PPSL’s investor companies. The paid up share capital of Seven-Eleven Sales and Marketing is Rs70 lakh.

Cathy Infrastructure and Roller Multitrade were also two among the four shareholders of Nivita Trades, another of PPSL’s investor firms. The total paid up share capital of Nivita is Rs75 lakh.

Another example is Chariot Investrade, another of PPSL’s investor firms, in which Vidya Buildcon, Roller Multitrade, Anantika Infrastructure and Sanobar Infrastructure were four of five shareholders.

Also, the Kandois of Kolkata recently said they no longer have any connection with Purti or Gadkari after their companies exited PPSL in 2009; but DNA found that the Kandois are listed as directors in the third level of shareholding firms.

Sulochana Devi Kandoi and Pankaj Kandoi are directors in Vidya Buildcon and Sanobar Infrastructure, Suman Kandoi and Jay Prakash Kandoi are directors in Roller Multitrade. Sulochana and Suman Kandoi are directors of Anantika Infrastructure while Sulochana and Jay Prakash Kandoi are directors of Cathy Infrastructure Pvt Ltd.

Interestingly, all five firms that are supposed to have exited PPSL have given their address in the updated registrar of companies records as 610, Damji Shamji Trade Centre in Vidyavihar, Mumbai. This is the office of Shivam Sharma, the man appointed four months ago as director in 15 shareholding companies of PPSL.
“Bihani requested me to let this address be used and I agreed,” Sharma said, referring to Kolkata businessman Rajendra Kumar Bihani, the director of several firms that invested in PPSL.

Sharma said he was “surprised” that Bihani, at whose behest he took on the role of an independent director in the clutch of investor firms, has now turned elusive. “Ever since this news broke, I have not been able to get in touch with Bihani,” Sharma said.
Bihani is a prominent businessman in Kolkata who was also responsible for the appointment of Bhayander-resident and priest Vishnu Sharma and Thane resident Ravi Sharma as directors of various investor firms.

Asked about the slum colony addresses, co-directors, and false addresses of some firms, Shivam Sharma said some technical errors committed by a consultant had been rectified. “This was a business opportunity for me. I was offered the role of an independent director in firms involved in making investments. These investments in PPSL were made long before I joined. So, I cannot comment on them,” he said.

Sharma, an MBA in finance, got to know Bihani after doing business with him in Haldia, West Bengal, and Orissa. Asked if he did not find something amiss about being director of 15 firms that seemed to have no business activity, he refused to comment saying he was still getting acquainted with the businesses.
Thane resident Ravi Sharma, another director of PPSL’s shareholding company Swiftsol, said he too had been roped in by Bihani. “I haven’t been in touch with Bihani since this started,” he said.

What Next

Top BJP leaders like Sushma Swaraj or Arun Jaitley cannot accept Gadkari's resignation. Only the central parliamentary board can take a call. But it has to be endorsed first by the national executive and then by the national council.
 

Just a coincidence?

  • One of the 28 shareholders of Swiftsol India --Purti Power and Sugar Ltd's shareholding firms -- is Yogita Thakre
  • And that is the name of the seven-year-old girl found dead in a car parked Gadkari's Nagpur home in May 2009
  • It is still clear if this is merely a coincidence
  • The list of allottees of shares updated on March 31, 2010 includes 28 Nagpur residents who hold Swiftsol shares for which they are said to have paid Rs14.35 lakh, including premium. 
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