E-Paper
SIT to unravel nexus behind extorting money from businessmen approaching Invest UP
LUCKNOW: A three-member SIT is formed to investigate middleman Nikant Jain's alleged bribery for an IAS officer regarding a solar plant proposal.
LUCKNOW The Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed to investigate the case against ‘high profile middleman’ Nikant Jain, 39, who allegedly sought bribe on behalf of an IAS officer from an industrial group which had applied for approval of their solar plant proposal through Invest UP, to focus on unravelling the nexus involved behind this corruption.
On Friday, the state police authorities set up the three-member SIT led by an ASP-rank officer. The SIT is led by 2000 batch Provincial Police Service (PPS) officer Vikas Chandra Tripathi, currently posted in Barabanki as ASP (north).
ACP (Gomti Nagar) VK Dwivedi, a 2014 batch PPS officer and Lucknow crime branch inspector Alok Kumar Rao will also be part of it, said a senior cop privy to the development.
As per the cop, the SIT will probe every aspect of the case and unravel the entire nexus of private persons and public servants involved in extorting money from businessmen coming to Uttar Pradesh with their business proposals on the state government’s invite to provide ease of doing business opportunities.
He said Jain and an unknown public servant were initially accused of extortion under Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Section 308 (5) as well as under Sections 7, 12 and 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 in the FIR registered at Gomti Nagar police station of Lucknow on March 20.
The FIR mentioned that Jain was allegedly demanding 5% of the total cost of the solar project as commission for approval of the project, allegedly at the behest of a senior officer of Invest UP.
The FIR was lodged on the complaint of senior authority of SAEL Solar P6 Private Limited, Vishwajeet Dutt after the state government took cognizance on the firm’s complaint.
The UP government had ordered Invest UP CEO Abhishek Prakash’s suspension on March 20 after Jain’s arrest following accusations by the representative of SAEL Solar P6 Private Limited.
The complainant mentioned that a senior officer asked him to speak to an alleged middleman Nikant Jain and, on being contacted, Jain allegedly demanded commission for getting Invest UP’s evaluation committee’s approval for the project.
Jain, who currently lodged in Lucknow district jail, is in judicial custody under Section 8 of the PC Act, 1988, which deals with the offence of bribing a public servant and Section 12 of the said Act for abetment of offences.
Section 8 was added later while Section 12 was retained during the investigation and the Section 7 and 13 of PC Act, 1988, which deals with corruption and criminal conduct by a public servant, was dropped after the investigation officer failed to establish involvement of any public servant in the case.
