CBI conducts raids on Adarsh promoters, Tiwari

The CBI raids come a day after the agency filed an FIR against 13 persons including seven serving and retired state bureaucrats in the Adarsh scam.

The sleuths raided the premises of the Society’s chief promoter and former Defence Estates officer R C Thakur, the Society president Brigadier (retd) M M Wangchu and the former Congress legislator and one of the main players of the Society Kanhaiyalal Gidwani, who used his political contacts to get the Society file cleared by the state government.

Across cities

The raids were conducted across Mumbai, Thane, Pune and Nagpur, the CBI sources here said, claiming that incriminiating documents, including files, laptops and even computer hard discs were seized.

While Gidwani's two flats and his office in Mumbai were searched, Thakur's two houses, one in Thane and another in Nagpur were raided. Wangchu's house in Pune was raided. Thakur's ancestral house at Madhuban in Bihar too was searched.

Late in the evening, a CBI team reached the house of Tiwari, who was the principal Urban Development secretary when the Adarsh file was cleared by his department, and began searches.

Tiwari was recently suspended by the governor from his high office and a reference has been made to the Supreme Court for his removal under the Right to Information Act (RTI) 2005.

He has been named in the FIR as being instrumental in reducing witdth of an adjacent road and increasing FSI (floor space index) of the Adarsh Society building.

The raids were also conducted at the Adarsh Society office in Colaba in south Mumbai.
“Searches are being conducted at Thakur’s residences in Bihar, Nagpur and Thane, Wangchu's house in Pune and Gidwani's house in Mumbai. Searches are also being conducted at the office of Adarsh society,” a senior CBI official said earlier in the day.

Questioned

Gidwani, who owns three flats in the Adarsh building (one in his name and two in the name of his sons) was also questioned by the CBI officials, it is learnt.

These three individuals have been named as the main conspirators in the FIR filed by the CBI in the sessions court on Saturday.

Although the FIR contents have not been made public, it is learnt that the CBI has charged Thakur, who was a sub-divisional officer with Defence Estates Office, with playing a major role in identifying the plot and facilitating the state government's claim on it.

Gidwani helped use the Kargil rhetoric to push for clearances with the state government and change land rules to favour Adarsh. Brigadier (retired) M M Wanchu was instrumental in mooting the idea of the controversial housing society, sources said.