“The complaint has been registered based on the preliminary investigation. Further probe is on,” said Rishiraj Singh, joint director, ACB of CBI.
The anti-corruption unit of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday registered a preliminary enquiry (PE) against unknown persons in the Adarsh building scam, which had led to the sacking of chief minister Ashok Chavan.
“The complaint has been registered based on the preliminary investigation. Further probe is on,” said Rishiraj Singh, joint director, ACB of CBI.
“After PE, if prima facie evidence of criminality is found, a regular case will be registered,” the CBI spokesperson said. Under PE, the CBI cannot affect any seizure of documents or arrest any person, which has surprised many observers.
According to the officials, the PE was registered after receiving a complaint from the ministry of defence (MoD). Last week, defence minister AK Anthony had ordered a CBI probe into the scam in which senior military officers, top politicians, and bureaucrats are reported to be involved.
The defence ministry in its complaint had alleged irregularities in issuance of the no-objection certificate (NOC) and subsequent allotment of land to Adarsh CHS by different government departments.
The complaint further alleged that certain mandatory clearances were obtained by the accused from the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) on commitments to provide an Army Welfare Girl’s Hostel and for the welfare of widows and soldiers affected during the Kargil war.
The MoD has blamed two of its own departments — department of defence estate and that of the area commander — for issuance of the clearance certificate to the society. The complaint also raises concern over severe irregularities in coastal regulatory zone (CRZ) and other environmental clearances.
Sources in the CBI reveal that the land belongs to the defence as it has found maps dated to 1847 which show the plot was earmarked by the British India government as Colaba defence land. Also, no survey was done by the state on the plot, which is a mandatory exercise. It was done only during the allotment of the land to Adarsh society.
The sources add that the promoters had used an emotional pitch of “Kargil war heroes” to secure clearances from various authorities.
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