Top raw offiCer under watCH for duBious linKs
The government is keen to ensure that every citizen gets basic needs like roti, kapda and makan (food, clothing and house). The test of a government is its ability to deliver goods and services in a tangible manner.
This was stated by Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri, while addressing the “Building India Conclave”, organised by The Sunday Guardian and NewsX channel, in the national capital this week. Puri spoke about various government schemes like Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and Swachh Bharat initiatives aimed at providing basic services to the people.
The conclave turned out to be a unique platform for stakeholders who discussed in detail the various factors imperative for the nation’s growth. The summit witnessed discussions on India’s future on the development plank, especially on issues like urban development planning, sustainable development, how development can be done keeping the aspect of pollution, and other issues like what a smart city means in India, in mind.
The summit was inaugurated by Hardeep Singh Puri and attended by other key speakers from the real estate sector, urban planning and bureaucrats. Speaking about urban planning, especially in cities like Delhi and other metros, Puri emphasised on the need to have better transport facilities.
The “Building India Conclave” also witnessed dedicated sessions on Indian Railways with Ashwani Lohani, chairman of the Railway Board. Lohani spoke about modernising railways, how Indian Railways was focusing more on safety, clean trains and railway stations, semi-high speed trains, modernising railway stations, meeting targets and other issues. Lohani specifically talked about the development of dedicated freight corridors or separate tracks for goods trains.
The conclave also saw discussions on smart cities and how relevant they were in the present times, what a smart city is and how future planning can happen keeping the increasing population in the country in check. Also, the conclave focused on the real estate sector and how the dream of affordable housing can be fulfilled keeping in mind sustainable development.
Hardeep Singh Puri also honoured people working in the area of urban planning and those working in different development projects. November 2016 demonetisation.
The Sunday Guardian tried to reach out to Asthana seeking his version but he chose not to respond.
In his complaint, Babu, on the basis of which the agency booked Asthana alongwith CBI DSP Devender Kumar, has also mentioned the names of two more IPS officers, Samant Goel and Parvez Hayat. Asthana and Goel are batchmates and share a very good friendship.
Goel, who is a 1984-batch Punjab-cadre IPS officer, is presently a Special Director in RAW and is seen as the guardian of this particular RAW officer who is posted in Dubai. This newspaper has accessed multiple pictures of the Dubai-based officer with Prasad and other individuals, who allegedly have links with Pakistan based ISI and have been entrusted to “cultivate” friends in Dubai.
Prasad’s name had first come into the picture in June when Danish Shah, another Dubai-based Indian businessman told The Sunday Guardian ( I am not an ISI agent: Danish Shah, 28 June) that it was Prasad, along with the Dubai-based officer and Samant Goel, who had prepared a “false report” implicating senior ED officer Rajeshwar Singh of being in touch with suspected Dubaibased ISI agents, including Shah himself.
The Ministry of Finance included all this information in Para 7 on Page 2 of the RAW report placed before the Supreme Court during the hearing in the AircelMaxis case involving former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram. The report was apparently placed with the intention of removing Singh from the court-monitored probe.
Quoting this RAW report, the Ministry Finance had stated that Singh was in touch with Shah, who as per the report was an ISI operative, and hence Singh should be removed from the investigation in the case.
Later, the RAW report was rubbished by ED director Karnail Singh in a press communiqué, following which Rajeshwar Singh wrote to the RAW director, stating that Singh was in touch with Shah regarding a case that the ED was investigating. Later, in an interview to this correspondent, Singh had said that he did the right thing while coming out in support of Rajeshwar.
The now jailed journalist Upendra Rai, who was closely associated with the Subrata Roy- led Sahara group, had earlier approached the Supreme Court seeking restraining order against Rajeshwar to stop him from investigating a corruption case against them. The Supreme Court in 2011, while deciding the case, had slapped contempt charges against the duo for their frivolous complaints. According to sources, Manoj Prasad is allegedly related to Subrata Roy.
Sources have told this newspaper that the Dubaibased RAW officer is also very close to people related to the now- shut Dubaibased Al-Zarooni Exchange, whose licence to exchange money was revoked in January 2016 after the US government found that it was laundering the money of the notorious Pakistani money financer Altaf Khanani, who was later arrested and is now in US prison.
“The man roams around with people like Manoj Prasad, with people who are taking care of the wealth of people like Pervez Musharraf invested in the Gulf and other individuals who are in the business of trapping Indian officials through the use of wealth and honey trap. He obviously enjoys the support of his senior bosses who are based in Delhi as he helps them in safeguarding their investments in Dubai,” a source alleged.