The Central Bureau of Investigation has named businessman Darshan Hiranandani along with former Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra as accused persons in the first information report registered on Thursday in the alleged cash-for-query case, The Indian Express reported.
The agency had filed the case two days after the Lokpal, the anti-corruption ombudsman, directed it to investigate allegations against Moitra.
According to the Lokpal order, the former Trinamool Congress MP had shared the credentials of her Lok Sabha member portal with Hiranandani to allow him to share questions. In total, the Dubai-based businessman had posted 58 questions that were asked by Moitra in Parliament, the Lokpal order had said citing the central agency’s preliminary inquiry findings.
The anti-corruption body had said that the allegations against the Trinamool Congress leader were backed by cogent evidence and were extremely serious.
The first information report registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation on Thursday stated: “In compliance of the order dated March 19, a regular case is registered against Moitra, the then Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha), Hiranandani, private person and unknown others.”
It added that the accused persons were booked under section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code pertaining to criminal conspiracy and relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The report said that the case had been registered “on the allegations that Moitra indulged in corrupt practices including, but not limited to, taking bribes and other undue advantages from Hiranandani, private person for compromising her parliamentary privileges and causing national security threats by sharing her login credentials of Lok Sabha.”
On Saturday, the central agency had searched multiple locations linked to Moitra in the case.
Moitra, who represented West Bengal’s Krishnanagar constituency, was expelled from Parliament on December 8 based on a motion moved by Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi.
The motion was based on a recommendation by the Lok Sabha’s Ethics Committee that had found Moitra guilty of having shared her login credentials to the Parliamentary website with Hiranandani and accepting gifts in exchange for asking the questions in Parliament.
The allegations against the politician were made in October by Bharatiya Janata Party MP Nishikant Dubey and advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai, her estranged partner.
However, Moitra, alleged that the ethics panel found her guilty of breaching a code that did not exist. The Trinamool Congress leader said that the committee punished her for a practice that is routine, accepted and encouraged in the House.
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