CBI will quiz senior babus on divestment

The CBI, which is probing the alleged irregularities in the disinvestment of ITDC- owned Laxmi Vilas Palace Hotel ( Udaipur), will soon question a few senior bureaucrats, including a former tourism secretary, who were part of the disinvestment process of the heritage hotel.

Sources said, “The agency will soon call three senior officials of the tourism ministry in connection with the case.” The CBI recently registered a case of alleged cheating against former telecommunications secretary Pradeep Baijal and promoter of a private firm in connection with disinvestment of Laxmi Vilas Palace hotel during NDA rule in 2002.

There are allegations that the heritage hotel, spread on 29 acres of prime property in Udaipur worth ` 151 crore, was sold to a private firm at an undervalued price of ` 7.52 crore in 2002, sources said. The agency has also mentioned unnamed government officers and private persons in the FIR registered under IPC sections.