DIRTY GAME (An investigative report by The Pioneer over horse trading in RS election in Jharkhand)

Kings and pawns under IT scanner

VIJAY DEO JHA

RANCHI

Top sources in the Income Tax department claimed having gathered sufficient clues about a woman legislator of ruling coalition who believed to have received Rs two crore from an independent candidate of RS election outside Jharkhand as a price to cast her vote.

“We can’t reveal mush about the payment as it will affect the case but one of her relatives received said amount,” top sources in the Income Tax department told the Pioneer over telephone.

The case is likely to be transferred to the CBI by Tuesday, after the Jharkhand High Court directed Election Commission of India to handover the case to horse trading to the CBI. IT sources said that a former MP from Jharkhand who was involved in mustering MLAs support for an independent candidate is likely to be quizzed.

“He was chief architect of the election strategy of an independent candidate who used his political and personal connections to get support of some of the independent MLAs and others. We strongly suspect amounts were paid to MLAs and can’t feign ignorance,” sources said.

Investigating the matter Income Tax suspect involvement of a city based hotelier who had arranged five rooms at his hotel to one independent candidate Pawan Kumar Dhoot during RS election. A search operation was carried in the hotel on Thursday night—a day before RS polling by the Income Tax. “We did not find anything to suggest wheeling and dealing. “But the suspecting thing was that the hotel had not maintained proper register of its occupants and check-in period. They need to explain us,” an IT official who was the part of the search team said. During the grilling hotel authorities accepted that one Ram Bangar who was working actively for Dhoot had booked these rooms.  

Interestingly, suspended BJP MLA Ramchandra Baitha who is believed to have voted for Dhoot made a secret visit to Income Tax department a few days back. “We can’t doubt anybody just because one has voted for those who are under scanner. But Baitha said us that a former MP had contacted him for vote in the favour of a certain candidate,” an insider said.

Baitha accepted having met some top IT official but he refused to divulge the detail. 

While scores of MLAs cutting across the party line have been under constant watch of the Income Tax and investigative agencies; IT Department has prepared the list of persons who are alleged to be either a liaison or acted as a courier to pay money to some of the MLAs. The IT Department has got vital lead about a person known as Pappu belonging to Barhet who was managing votes of MLAs from Santhal Pargana.

“We request common people and whistleblowers to help us to provide information about the horse trading during RS poll,” Income Tax Commissioner Ajit Kumar Srivastava said.