CBI officer alleges colleagues protecting murder accused

A serving Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has levelled serious charges of destruction of evidence and indulgence in corruption by top agency officials, allegedly in order to influence the murder case of a Chhattisgarh-based journalist.

DSP N.P. Mishra wrote to CBI director Alok Verma in June this year, stating that even though ample proof was submitted, the agency was saving its top officials whom he accused of manipulating evidence to save the “main culprit in the Umesh Rajput murder case”, Manoj Aggarwal.

Rajput, who was a journalist with a local Hindi newspaper in Chhattisgarh, was shot dead in January 2011 allegedly because he was doing negative stories on a powerful lobby of health professionals, who, with the support of local politicians, were indulging in massive corruption. The CBI had registered the murder case in February 2015 on the directions of the Chhattisgarh High Court, after the journalist’s younger brother moved a writ petition.

Mishra, who was the Investigating Officer (IO) in the case, in his letter to Verma, has named three IPS officers—Sharad Agarwal, Abhishek Dular and Ram Gopal Garg—accusing them of indulging in corruption and manipulation of evidence in the case.

“The CBI officers, namely Sharad Agarwal, the then DIG and now Joint Director, Abhishek Dular, the then SP, K.S. Negi, DSP/IO of the case, and A.K. Singh, senior public prosecutor, have changed the statement so as to save high-profile criminal Manoj Agarwal, who is the main culprit in Umesh Rajput and Sushil Pathak murder cases, and others,” Mishra alleged.

A copy of the letter is with this newspaper.

As per his representation to Verma, “Rajput was murdered only because he was blackmailing Manoj Aggarwal, as this blackmailing by Rajput not only endangered the life and status of Aggarwal but also that of all the doctors of Chhattisgarh Medical College, Bilaspur, and Dr BR Ambedkar Medical College as well as the ‘henchmen’ police officers of Aggarwal, who were helping him by issuing/accepting false and fabricated certificates in his name,” Mishra alleged in his complaint to the CBI director.

“In order to save the real culprit, the aforesaid CBI officers concocted and created false evidence in the case and filed a false chargesheet in the court. He also alleged that the statements recorded by him have not been filed with the chargesheet of the case. Copies of actual statements are with me in my computer and I can handover ( sic) the same if required,” Mishra stated.

Speaking to The Sunday Guardian, Mishra asserted that whatever he wrote to Verma was all genuine and he still stood by it. “I will be filing a case in this matter very soon against CBI officers. I am being victimised by the corrupt officials of the agency. My complaint is 100% genuine and based on the evidence that I have. They are trying to save the prime accused in the murder case and since I am not toeing their line, they have been harassing me both personally and professionally,” he said.

Responding to queries on the issue, CBI spokesperson Abhishek Dayal told this newspaper, “The CBI has filed a charge-sheet in the matter and the court has framed charges against the accused. The case is under trial in the court at Raipur.”