CBI raids Himachal CM's residences

Disproportiote assets

Shimla/New Delhi, Sept 26: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh's houses in the hilly state and in Delhi were raided on Saturday by the CBI in a disproportiote assets case against him and his family even as he prepared for his daughter's wedding. Virbhadra Singh has refuted the allegations, while the Congress called the raids part of "Prime Minister rendra Modi's hate agenda".

Union Health Minister J.P. dda, who belongs to the hill state, demanded the chief minister's resigtion on moral grounds.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) reached Virbhadra Singh's private residence, Holly Lodge, located in Jakhu hills in Shimla, around 8 a.m. At that time, the chief minister and his family were not at home.

"Searches were conducted at 13 locations in Solan, Rampur, Saharan and his tive place in upper Shimla in Himachal Pradesh and in Delhi. Some incrimiting documents, property papers, investments have been recovered in the raids," a CBI official said.

The raid coincided with the wedding of the chief minister's daughter in Shimla.

Congress leader Ghulam bi Azad called the CBI move "very disappointing".

"It's very unfortute that the CBI is conducting raids on the chief minister's house in relation to a case that is sub-judice. How can the CBI conduct raids in a case that is sub-judice?" asked Azad.

On the other hand, dda demanded the immediate resigtion of the chief minister on moral grounds.

"The FIR was registered when Virbhadra Singh was union steel minister. There was corruption and this has been proved now. He has no right to continue. He should resign," dda said.

The case was registered on September 23 under the Prevention of Corruption Act against the former union minister, his wife Pratibha Singh, LIC agent And Chauhan and an associate, Chunnilal.

"The FIR was the outcome of a prelimiry inquiry which revealed that Virbhadra Singh, while serving (as union minister) during 2009-2012, had allegedly accumulated assets worth Rs.6.03 crore in his me and in the me of his family members which were found to be disproportiote to his known sources of income," a CBI official said.

"The other FIR med people who had allegedly abetted the then union minister in committing the offence," he said.

The CBI on June 18 initiated a prelimiry inquiry against Virbhadra Singh and his family over allegations of corruption and acquiring disproportiote assets during his tenure as union steel minister.

The official said Virbhadra Singh invested his uccounted income in LIC policies in his me and in the me of his family through And by showing the same as agricultural income.

"This was done by creation of an MoU (memorandum of understanding) purportedly dated June 15, 2008 for maintence of an apple orchard, with the said private person for a period of three years," the official said.

The CBI official later said the private person allegedly deposited Rs.5 crore in his own bank account and debited the same through cheques for purchasing various LIC policies in their mes.

"Later, Virbhadra Singh allegedly attempted to legitimise the same as agricultural income by filing revised income tax returns in 2012. The agricultural income as claimed by him in his revised ITRs was not found to be teble. The then union minister had allegedly accumulated other assets disproportiote to known sources of income," he said.