Complainant named Abhishek Prakash in affidavit: SIT chargesheet
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Lucknow: It was a solar project in Uttar Pradesh worth over Rs 8,000 crore for which a 5% commission was allegedly demanded by middleman Nikant Jain from Vishwajeet Dutta, the representative of the solar energy firm behind the proposed venture, the SIT chargesheet has revealed.
The investigation found that Dutta, in an affidavit, also named the then CEO of Invest UP, Abhishek Prakash, who is currently under suspension, in connection with the alleged bribery case.
On May 19, the three-member SIT, which was probing allegations against the suspended IAS officer, submitted its chargesheet in the court of Special Judge Satendra Singh (PC Act-2), naming middleman Nikant Jain as the primary accused in the high-profile solar commission scam.
The court took cognisance of the chargesheet on May 21.
The chargesheet was filed under Section 308(5) (extortion involving threats of death or grievous hurt) of the BNS, and under sections 8 (bribery of a public servant) and 12 (abetment of offences) of the Prevention of Corruption Act against Nikant Jain. The case stems from an FIR lodged on Jan 20 this year at Gomtinagar police station, following an FIR by Vishwajeet Dutta, a representative of SAEL Solar P6 Pvt Ltd.
Dutta alleged that Jain demanded 5% commission "on behalf of a senior officer" in exchange for expediting approvals for a solar manufacturing project proposed through Invest UP.
In his complaint to chief secretary Manoj Kumar Singh, Dutta claimed that Jain explicitly named the then Invest UP CEO Abhishek Prakash as the person behind the demand. After preliminary inquiry, the state govt suspended Prakash on Mar 20.
"When asked about the project, he (Dutta) said it was worth over Rs 8,000 crore and that a senior official from Invest UP gave him Jain's contact. Jain demanded 5% (cut), and when demands escalated, he backed out and was threatened. The matter was later handled by the management team," the chargesheet said. TOI has a copy of the chargesheet. The chargesheet also mentions an affidavit by Vishwajit Dutta, revealing the name of then Invest UP CEO Abhishek Prakash.
The complainant's statement was recorded, and copies of WhatsApp chats provided were attached. "On March 16, at 10:44:57 am, a 10-second call from Dutta to the accused's number was found during the analysis of call detail records," the chargesheet said. "A search operation was conducted at Jain's residence in Gomtinagar but no bribe money was recovered. An on-spot inspection was carried out, and statements from Jain's family members were recorded.
Jain's office was found locked and was sealed," the report said.
Two mobile phones (iPhones) were recovered from Jain's possession and were sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory for data extraction. Police have also requested call detail records (CDRs) of both the complainant and the accused. Cyber cell officers were directed to freeze Jain's debit cards and identify any other active bank accounts. A total of 22 witnesses have been named in the report.
The SIT comprised Barabanki ASP Vikas Chandra Tripathi, Gomtinagar ACP Vinay Dwivedi, and inspector Alok Rai.
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