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NRHM scam: Summons not delivered to accused, court takes serious note
Till date, summons could not be delivered at their respective addresses provided by the ED as no one was available there to receive them.
LUCKNOW The district and sessions court judge has directed the Enforcement Directorate and the police to provide the correct addresses of the accused in the NRHM scam so that summons could be issued to them.
Sanjay Shankar Pandey, district and sessions judge, has taken serious note of the fact that the prosecuting agencies (ED and police) could not deliver summons at the addresses of the accused in the NRHC scam despite repeated attempts.
The court has instructed the ED and the cops to take necessary steps in this regard. District and sessions judge, who is also a special judge PML Act, had summoned Pradeep Shukla, Babu Singh Khushwaha, and three brothers -- Rakesh Kumar Tandon, Pradeep Kumar Tandon, and Anoop Kumar Tandon -- on December 19 last on the plea of ED, Lucknow office, in connection with the NRHM scam.
However, till date, summons could not be delivered at their respective addresses provided by the ED as no one was available there to receive them. “It is very strange that prosecuting agency is not able to ensure service of summons even though the said accused have already been interrogated by the ED during the investigation and their respective statements have already been recorded,” observed the court during the last hearing of the case on April 1 this year.
The Tandon brothers own M/s Anod Plasma Spray Pvt Ltd, Anod Pharma Pvt Ltd, and M/s Sofgel Capsulation Pvt Ltd. The then government had awarded several contracts to them in various NRHM projects without fulfilling norms, says ED’s complaint in court.
In its complaint to the court, the ED pointed out that an FIR was lodged by the CBI on January 18, 2012, and a chargesheet was filed by it before the court of special judge, anti-corruption, CBI Ghaziabad. It was related to financial irregularities, corruption, and criminal conspiracy in the implementation of the NRHM schemes in Uttar Pradesh.
The court has now fixed April 28 as the next date for the appearance of the accused before the court.
