Kripashankar Singh could get life term if convicted

In the FIR lodged by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) with the Nirmal Nagar police station on Tuesday, former MRCC president Kripashankar Singh and “others” (family members) have been charged with offences ranging from criminal conspiracy, forgery, cheating and destruction of evidence. Debasish Panigrahi and Rahul Mahajani report.

In the FIR lodged by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) with the Nirmal Nagar police station on Tuesday, former MRCC president Kripashankar Singh and “others” (family members) have been charged with offences ranging from criminal conspiracy, forgery, cheating and destruction of evidence. They also face charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

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Under these legal provisions, Singh and the other accused in the case can be sentenced to life imprisonment (maximum), if convicted. The compoundable offences, on account of the string of charges, could hasten the awarding of the maximum punishment to the accused in the case upon conviction by the court of law, according to sources.

What next?

As per the normal procedure, the lodging of the FIR would essentially mean the beginning of investigation.

As per the court’s order, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) should not make it’s findings on the basis of the report submitted by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), dated July 7, 2011, which has been totally rejected by the court.

The court has directed the police to continue with the investigation based on the FIR of the petitioner (Sanjay Tiwari) and a report of the ACB, dated March 30, 2011 with regard to the enumerated assets of Kripashankar Singh and his family members.

The SIT will have to collect documentary evidence with regard to the movable and immovable properties of Singh and his family,including flats, shops, agricultural land, bungalow, office/commercial premises, motor cars, bank accounts, forward trading account etc.

As per the routine procedure in any investigation, Kripashankar and his family members can be arrested by the SIT at any time, at the discretion of the Investigating Officer (in this case, the police commissioner) to further the investigation.