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The CBI said Thursday the change in a 2015 Look Out Circular against liquor baron Vijay Mallya from “detain” to merely informing about his movements was an “error” in judgement because he was cooperating in the probe and there was no warrant against him.

Three years later as the controversy surfaced again Thursday, the CBI sources said when the first Lookout Circular (LoC) was issued on October 12, 2015, Mallya was already abroad.

Upon his return the agency was asked by the Bureau of Immigration (BoI), if Mallya should be detained as sought in the LoC to which the CBI said there was no need to arrest or detain him as he was a sitting MP and there was no warrant against him, they said.

It said the agency only wanted information on his movements, they said.

Besides, the probe was in an initial stage and the CBI was collecting documents from the IDBI in the Rs 900 crore loan default case, they said.

The CBI issued a fresh LoC against Mallya in the last week of November, 2015 asking airport authorities across the country to “inform” it about Mallya’s movements, thus replacing its previous circular which had sought detention of the businessman if he attempted to leave the country, they said.

The LoC depends on the issuing authority and, unless it asks the BoI to detain a person or to stop him from boarding a plane, no action is taken.

The sources said Mallya travelled abroad in October and returned in November, then made two trips in first and last week of December and also a trip in January, 2016.

In between, he had appeared for questioning thrice since the lookout notices were issued — once in New Delhi and twice in Mumbai between December 9 and 12, 2015.

The sources said the change in the notice was an error in judgement and since he had been cooperating, there was no reason to stop him from moving abroad.

On March 2, 2016, Mallya left the country and has been in the United Kingdom where he has been fighting the extradition case.

A local court in Maharashtra has issued an arrest warrant against Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and 15 others in a 2010 case related to an agitation by them over the Babli project across river Godavari.

The judicial first class magistrate of Dharmabad in Nanded district, N R Gajbhiye, issued the order, directing police to arrest all the accused and produce them in the court by September 21.

Naidu and others, then in the opposition in the united Andhra Pradesh, had been arrested and lodged in a jail in Pune in connection with the agitation staged by them near the Babli project site in Maharashtra, opposing it on ground that it would affect the people downstream.

All were released later though they did not seek bail.

The court order, dated July 5 and supposed to be executed by August 16 but corrected to September 21, was issued on a petition filed by a Maharashtra resident.

Besides Naidu, state Water Resources Minister Devineni Umamaheswara Rao and Social Welfare Minister N Anand Babu, former MLA G Kamalakar (who subsequently joined the TRS) were among the Telugu Desam Party workers booked in the case.

They have been charged with the Indian Penal Code offences, including assault or criminal force, to deter public servant from discharge of duty, voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means, act endangering life or personal safety of others, criminal intimidation among others.

Naidu was the leader of opposition in the united Andhra Pradesh then and the case has been pending trial all these years.

Reacting to the news about the court order, Naidu’s son and state Information Technology Minister N Lokesh said his father and other TDP leaders would attend the court.

“He fought to protect the interests of Telangana. He even refused to seek bail when he was arrested,” Lokesh said.

The chief minister is currently camping in Tirumala near Tirupati, attending the annual brahmotsavam of Lord Venkateswara temple there.

(PTI)

Rejecting Rahul Gandhi’s demand for resignation of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, the BJP on Thursday sought to turn the tables by asking Congress President to quit from his post because of his alleged involvement in the National Herald case.

The party also dismissed the claims of Congress leader P.L. Punia, who told the media that Jaitley and fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya met in the Central Hall of Parliament before the latter fled the country on March 2, 2016.

“Rahul Gandhi, who is facing serious criminal charges, should first resign. The people of the country should thank Arun Jaitley, who is working to bring the money back which was looted during the Congress rule,” Union Minister Piyush Goyal told a press conference in response to a question over Gandhi’s demand for Jaitley’s resignation.

“Those, who took loans from hawala companies and accumulated wealth by taking government land free of cost or at lower rate from National Herald and whose case was rejected by the Delhi High Court, should resign first,” he added.

The senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader was responding to the charges made by Rahul Gandhi, who demanded Jaitely’s resignation after accusing him of colluding with fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya “and giving him a free passage” to flee the country.

Gandhi asked why the Minister did not inform the investigating agencies about Mallya’s plans to leave India.

Responding to the charges, Goyal said that comments of a criminal or a person who is under the glare of law cannot be taken for any credibility.

“It was a one-way traffic. He (Mallya) was trying to talk to somebody in the passage. By that logic, I was watching Twitter. Lots of people have put up photographs where Rahul Gandhi was seen with Arun Jaitley. I don’t think we can run away from Rahul Gandhi because he is a person accused of fraud of huge amount and high court has also dismissed his plea,” he said.

The BJP leader dubbed the charges levelled by Congress MP Punia as “incredulous” and suggested he appear before the investigative agencies. He claimed that Punia was forced to speak under pressure.

“Where was he for the last two-and-half years. He should respond to the investigation agencies. Two-and-half-years later he remembers the conversation, the time and a so-called meeting which never took place. One suddenly raises questions on the credibility…a party colleague of Rahul Gandhi is making such incredulous claims,” he said.

Punia had claimed the meeting between Jaitley and Mallya lasted 15-20 minutes and alleged that Mallya took Jaitley’s permission after holding consultations with him about his planned flight abroad.

The Union Minister for Railways said that the Narendra Modi government never interferes in the work of investigative agencies.

“This government has acted the most against bank defaulters. I think this government took such steps to get the money back looted during Congress rule…,” he said.

Showing video clips of the statements made by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi in 2010, which showed that the then government was trying to get Kingfisher out of trouble, the BJP leader accused the Congress of breaking rules to pave the way for restructuring loans to Mallya.

“How since 2010, the Congress and the Gandhi family were having their say in the government? The PM also then said that they wanted to bail out Kingfisher airlines. This proves they allowed the loot… Congress, the Prime Minister, then Aviation Minister were also involved in the conspiracy to save Kingfisher Airlines,” he said.

“The Congress party should clarify what relations they had with Kingfisher Airlines. This shows the propensity to which the Congress can lie to cover up their sins,” he said.

(IANS)