Infamous in Assam as the TV tycoon who abused his wife, former Congress MP Matang Sinh was virtually unknown in the rest of India, until union home secretary Anil Goswami reportedly lost his job for trying to prevent Sinh from being arrested.
Sinh was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation on January 31 on charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating and misappropriation of more than Rs 28 crore in the Saradha Ponzi scheme headed by Kolkata's Sudipto Sen.
The Indian Express reported that Sinh "resisted arrest and flaunted his 'high-level contacts'". This was no empty boast. Despite falling out of favour within the Congress party after he made disparaging comments about Sonia Gandhi, Sinh continued to enjoy the privilege reserved for the most powerful people in India: the Z-plus security cover. Extended by the United Progressive Alliance government, it stayed untouched under the new regime.
What made Sinh worthy of being guarded by 36 commandoes, the standard number assigned under the Z-plus cover, or if some reports are to be believed, by no less than 130 of them?
Who is Matang Sinh?
On his website, Matang Sinh claims he was born in 1962 to SP Sinh and Rani Rukmini Sinh in Tinsukia, Assam, and that he has a bachelor’s degree in science. Journalists and people close to him have, however, contradicted his origins in Assam – while some claim he is originally from Hajipur in Bihar, others say he hails from Madhya Pradesh.
“People don’t really know where Sinh is from because there are no records of it, but once he moved to Tinsukia, he was known to be involved in smuggling activities and the coal mafia around Assam,” said a senior journalist who lived in Assam and has interacted with Sinh on several occasions.
Sinh’s political career began only in the 1990s, after he had made some wealth in Assam. His first major position was as the chairman of Assam Congress’s labour cell, and in 1991, he claims he became “personally acquainted” with Rajiv Gandhi. A year later, he was elected to the Rajya Sabha
Sinh eventually grew close to another former prime minister from the Congress, PV Narsimha Rao, who helped him form deeper ties with the inner circle of the Congress party. He was also made a union minister of state for parliamentary affairs from 1994 to 1996.
“He grew very powerful in Delhi and was almost like Narsimha Rao’s right hand man,” said the senior journalist who did not wish to be identified. “In fact, he also once claimed he kept files on all the important bureaucrats in Delhi, and that he could blackmail anyone he wished.”
High-level security
In 1998, Sinh was reportedly expelled from the Congress after he described party chief Sonia Gandhi in a dismissive way in an interview. Despite this, his website refers to Sinh as a “staunch Congressman”, and the United Progressive Alliance government chose to give him Z-plus security cover.
NDTV reported that as many as 130 commandoes were posted to protect Sinh. According to one source, Manmohan Singh himself had recommended this level of security for Sinh when he was prime minister.
In July 2014, soon after the National Democratic Alliance government came to power, it decided to review the high-level security enjoyed by more than 150 VIPs. Matang Sinh was among them. The review group recommended that Sinh's threat level "did not warrant 130 commandos, rather three policemen would be enough," reported NDTV, quoting unnamed sources. While the security cover for several other politicians and bureaucrats was cut down after the review, Sinh’s remain unchanged.
According to the NDTV report, the now-sacked home secretary Anil Goswami had a role in ensuring that Sinh’s Z-plus security cover stayed.
Abusing his wife
Parallel to his political career, Sinh runs an empire of at least six television news channels in the north east, including NE TV and Positive TV. He is said to have entered the television business through his ex wife, former journalist Manoranjana Sinh, to whom he was married for at least 13 years.
Manoranjana and Sinh separated more than seven years ago, with his wife filing several cases of domestic violence, emotional torture and economic abuse against him. She also alleged that Sinh was abusing their son, Mayurath Sinh, who Manoranjana has been raising by herself since the separation.
“Because the channels were basically run by Manoranjana, she demanded her share when they separated,” said the senior journalist.
In 2008, a sessions court in Guwahati had gave protection orders for Manoranjana so that Sinh could be restrained from torturing her. The court had also ruled that the couple would remain joint partners in their news channel NE TV.
Spilling the beans
When the Saradha chit fund scam was exposed in 2013, Manoranjana Sinh was also named in Sudipto Sinh’s letter to the CBI – she allegedly sold her shares of NE TV to the Saradha group for Rs 25 crore.
Manoranjana, however, has been publicly voicing her jubilation at Matang Sinh’s arrest and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to sack Anil Goswami. She has also spoken out against the Z-plus security covers granted to her ex-husband and others.
In a Facebook post on February 4, she said, “Many seniormost IPS officers who suffered at the hands of this Anil Goswami-Matang Singh duo would be grateful for this decision! Good riddance…”
In an interview with a television news channel on Friday, Manoranjana also declared herself a “Modi fan” because of his “swift action to break the nexus between corrupt politicians and bureaucrats”.
“The case of Anil Goswami is only the tip of the iceberg. There are many such wily and dirty politicians like Matang Sinh and corrupt bureaucrats like Goswami,” she said in the interview. “Sinh had a lot of clout in the home ministry and I have suffered a lot in the past seven years because of this. Each case against him must be thoroughly investigated and exposed.”
Sinh was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation on January 31 on charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating and misappropriation of more than Rs 28 crore in the Saradha Ponzi scheme headed by Kolkata's Sudipto Sen.
The Indian Express reported that Sinh "resisted arrest and flaunted his 'high-level contacts'". This was no empty boast. Despite falling out of favour within the Congress party after he made disparaging comments about Sonia Gandhi, Sinh continued to enjoy the privilege reserved for the most powerful people in India: the Z-plus security cover. Extended by the United Progressive Alliance government, it stayed untouched under the new regime.
What made Sinh worthy of being guarded by 36 commandoes, the standard number assigned under the Z-plus cover, or if some reports are to be believed, by no less than 130 of them?
Who is Matang Sinh?
On his website, Matang Sinh claims he was born in 1962 to SP Sinh and Rani Rukmini Sinh in Tinsukia, Assam, and that he has a bachelor’s degree in science. Journalists and people close to him have, however, contradicted his origins in Assam – while some claim he is originally from Hajipur in Bihar, others say he hails from Madhya Pradesh.
“People don’t really know where Sinh is from because there are no records of it, but once he moved to Tinsukia, he was known to be involved in smuggling activities and the coal mafia around Assam,” said a senior journalist who lived in Assam and has interacted with Sinh on several occasions.
Sinh’s political career began only in the 1990s, after he had made some wealth in Assam. His first major position was as the chairman of Assam Congress’s labour cell, and in 1991, he claims he became “personally acquainted” with Rajiv Gandhi. A year later, he was elected to the Rajya Sabha
Sinh eventually grew close to another former prime minister from the Congress, PV Narsimha Rao, who helped him form deeper ties with the inner circle of the Congress party. He was also made a union minister of state for parliamentary affairs from 1994 to 1996.
“He grew very powerful in Delhi and was almost like Narsimha Rao’s right hand man,” said the senior journalist who did not wish to be identified. “In fact, he also once claimed he kept files on all the important bureaucrats in Delhi, and that he could blackmail anyone he wished.”
High-level security
In 1998, Sinh was reportedly expelled from the Congress after he described party chief Sonia Gandhi in a dismissive way in an interview. Despite this, his website refers to Sinh as a “staunch Congressman”, and the United Progressive Alliance government chose to give him Z-plus security cover.
NDTV reported that as many as 130 commandoes were posted to protect Sinh. According to one source, Manmohan Singh himself had recommended this level of security for Sinh when he was prime minister.
In July 2014, soon after the National Democratic Alliance government came to power, it decided to review the high-level security enjoyed by more than 150 VIPs. Matang Sinh was among them. The review group recommended that Sinh's threat level "did not warrant 130 commandos, rather three policemen would be enough," reported NDTV, quoting unnamed sources. While the security cover for several other politicians and bureaucrats was cut down after the review, Sinh’s remain unchanged.
According to the NDTV report, the now-sacked home secretary Anil Goswami had a role in ensuring that Sinh’s Z-plus security cover stayed.
Abusing his wife
Parallel to his political career, Sinh runs an empire of at least six television news channels in the north east, including NE TV and Positive TV. He is said to have entered the television business through his ex wife, former journalist Manoranjana Sinh, to whom he was married for at least 13 years.
Manoranjana and Sinh separated more than seven years ago, with his wife filing several cases of domestic violence, emotional torture and economic abuse against him. She also alleged that Sinh was abusing their son, Mayurath Sinh, who Manoranjana has been raising by herself since the separation.
“Because the channels were basically run by Manoranjana, she demanded her share when they separated,” said the senior journalist.
In 2008, a sessions court in Guwahati had gave protection orders for Manoranjana so that Sinh could be restrained from torturing her. The court had also ruled that the couple would remain joint partners in their news channel NE TV.
Spilling the beans
When the Saradha chit fund scam was exposed in 2013, Manoranjana Sinh was also named in Sudipto Sinh’s letter to the CBI – she allegedly sold her shares of NE TV to the Saradha group for Rs 25 crore.
Manoranjana, however, has been publicly voicing her jubilation at Matang Sinh’s arrest and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to sack Anil Goswami. She has also spoken out against the Z-plus security covers granted to her ex-husband and others.
In a Facebook post on February 4, she said, “Many seniormost IPS officers who suffered at the hands of this Anil Goswami-Matang Singh duo would be grateful for this decision! Good riddance…”
In an interview with a television news channel on Friday, Manoranjana also declared herself a “Modi fan” because of his “swift action to break the nexus between corrupt politicians and bureaucrats”.
“The case of Anil Goswami is only the tip of the iceberg. There are many such wily and dirty politicians like Matang Sinh and corrupt bureaucrats like Goswami,” she said in the interview. “Sinh had a lot of clout in the home ministry and I have suffered a lot in the past seven years because of this. Each case against him must be thoroughly investigated and exposed.”
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