New Delhi: Opposing the bail application of Ashish Kansal, a prominent public face in India’s private defence sector, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) hinted at several transactions between him and a top official of the Defence PSU, Munitions India Limited (MIL).
These alleged transactions are in addition to the Rs 1.67 crore allegedly delivered at the Pune residence of Anil Kumar, a senior executive director with MIL, last month, leading to their arrest by the central agency last month.
In its response to Kansal’s (CEO of SMPP Limited) plea before a special CBI court in Pune, the agency has relied upon the statement of a witness, who was instructed by Anil Kumar on 25 August this year to collect “certain packets” from Pune’s Hotel Conrad. Shortly after receiving the instructions, the witness testified before the agency that he received a WhatsApp call from a number listed as ‘Ashish Kansal’, who reiterated the same instructions that Anil Kumar had earlier passed on.
Relying on the statement of this witness recorded by the CBI, special judge R. R. Mendhe rejected Kansal’s bail plea. The order noted that the witness had gone to the hotel, as instructed by both Anil Kumar and Kansal, where he received the bags (containing cash) and then took them to the MIL official’s residence to hand them over.
In addition to the possible instances of monetary transactions between the two, the agency also submitted to the court that Kansal allegedly deleted WhatsApp chats between him and co-accused Anil Kumar. However, the WhatsApp call logs establish the phone calls between Kansal and the witness who revealed that bags were delivered at Anil Kumar’s residence, the special judge recorded in the order.
“It also appears from the screenshot of WhatsApp call log that the applicant/accused had had WhatsApp call with said witness. Such previous transaction shows that there may be several transactions between applicant/accused and co-accused Anil Kumar and therefore thorough investigation is required,” the judge further observed.
During the proceedings before the special court, special public prosecutors A. D. Arikar and Manuji Upadhyay also informed the court that the investigators had recorded the statement of an angadia (traditional courier of expensive items), who had allegedly said he had talked to Kansal over the phone and later met him at his residence. There, the CBI alleged, cash was handed over to the angadia after the counting machine was used to tally the overall amount of Rs 1.67 crore.
For the transfer of funds, the angadia pocketed a commission of Rs 67,200 according to his own admission before the agency. The agency further informed the court that another witness privy to the illegal transaction revealed that his office was informed that Rs 1.67 crore was booked in Delhi for delivery in Pune.
“He further stated that on 12 October, he called on the mobile number of co-accused Anil and informed him about the amount and thereafter he sent his location to Anil on his WhatsApp. Thereafter, one person came to his location with a token to whom he handed over the said amount of Rs 1,67,90,000. It appears from investigation papers that the said amount of Rs 1,67,90,000 came to be seized from the residential premise of co-accused Anil Kumar, the public servant working on higher post in MIL,” special judge Mendhe further observed.
Appearing for Kansal, advocate S. K. Jain argued that Kansal was in regular contact with Anil Kumar over an official contract worth Rs 500 crore, awarded to his company, SMPP, for the supply of ammunition. Additionally, he also argued that the agency had moved its case against Kansal purely on suspicion and in the absence of any “incriminating evidence”.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
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