CBI registers case against its former chief, raids his house

NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a case against its former director AP Singh on Monday for allegedly providing favours to controversial meat exporter Moin Qureshi, who is an accused in a graft case.

The probe agency also raided Singh’s residence in Delhi’s Defence Colony.

Singh’s conduct while being the director of the probe agency had come under the scanner in 2014 when Attorney General (AG) Mukul Rohatgi brought to the Supreme Court’s notice the reported messages exchanged between Qureshi and Singh.

The BBM texts, unearthed by the income tax (I-T) department, indicated that the businessman had sought the former CBI director’s “help” on behalf of the people that were being probed by the agency.

Rohatgi had told the apex court that Singh’s conduct was “wholly unbecoming of the office he held”.

Two months after AG’s remark, Singh quit as a member of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), an appointment he was given by the UPA government in 2013 after his CBI stint ended.

Around the same time, a special court observed that there were “political reasons” behind the charges framed by the CBI against BJP president Amit Shah in 2012 — when Singh was its director — in connection with the deaths of Sohrabuddin Sheikh and Tulsiram Prajapati.

Although Singh was on the I-T radar after his association with Qureshi was discovered, the department did not press any charges of tax evasion or undisclosed income against the former CBI chief.

AP SINGH IN DOCK FOR ALLEGED FAVOURS TO MEAT EXPORTER MOIN QURESHI, WHO IS AN ACCUSED IN A CORRUPTION CASE