IPS Sanjeev Gandhi
Shimla, July 17: Shimla police, which is investigating the case registered under the Anti-Corruption Act regarding the alleged horse-trading of MLAs in the election for one Rajya Sabha seat in Himachal Pradesh, is preparing to raid the offices of those helicopter companies in which six rebel Congress former MLAs and three former independent MLAs had flown. In fact, Shimla police has obtained search warrants of the helicopter companies.
Shimla police had demanded from the lower court to issue notice to the helicopter companies under CrPC 93 and now Shimla police has got the search warrants. Shimla police has issued this search warrant to gather information about the huge expenses incurred in bringing and taking them by helicopter, because the police has collected many evidences related to the expenses of helicopter companies, while the expenses incurred by a pharma company for their hotel stay have also been revealed.
In this connection, former MLA Chaitanya Sharma was questioned once again on Monday at Boileauganj police station in Shimla. The SIT of Shimla police has also taken both the mobiles of Chaitanya Sharma in its possession, which are being sent to IT experts for investigation. Former MLA Ashish Sharma and former MLA Chaitanya Sharma’s father, retired IAS officer Rakesh Sharma, are accused of making arrangements for the stay of MLAs in five to seven star hotels to topple the government. The police is conducting a round of interrogation and it is said that the police will also make arrests in this case.
In the case of alleged horse-trading of MLAs after cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha elections on February 27, two Congress MLAs Sanjay Awasthi and Bhuvneshwar Gaur have filed a case in Boileauganj police station on March 10 under IPC 171E and 171C, 120B and sections 7 and 8 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
According to the case, after cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha elections, six former rebels of Congress along with three former independent MLAs also came and went by helicopters and stayed in a hotel in Panchkula for about two weeks. After that they went to Rishikesh. From Rishikesh they reached Gurgaon. The police has found out that their hotel bills were paid by a pharma company and the company is also being sent summons from the court, while the police has now obtained a search warrant in the matter of helicopter expenses and payment of hotel bills in Dehradun.
So far, the police have questioned former Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar’s campaign advisor Tarun Bhandari, Chaitanya Sharma, MLA Ashish Sharma, former IAS Rakesh Sharma in this case.
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Six Congress MLAs had cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha elections. During the budget session of the Himachal Assembly on 27 February 2024, the matter of six former MLAs of the ruling Congress rebelling in the election of Rajya Sabha MP came to light. The then six Congress MLAs and three former independent MLAs had voted in favor of the BJP candidate. The result was that despite the absolute majority, Congress candidate Abhishek Manu Singhvi lost the election and BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan was elected to the Rajya Sabha.
On March 10, Congress MLAs Sanjay Awasthi and Bhuvneshwar Gaur lodged a case at Boileauganj police station against former MLA Ashish Sharma and former MLA Chaitanya Sharma’s father, retired IAS officer Rakesh Sharma under IPC 171E and 171C, 120B and sections 7 and 8 of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Both of them are accused of conspiring to topple the government. After cross voting in the Rajya Sabha elections, 6 rebel Congress MLAs and 3 former independent MLAs were out of the state for about a month.
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