CBI books retired Orissa HC judge for graft

The CBI has filed a corruption case against a retired Orissa High Court Judge I.M. Quddusi for helping an Uttar Pradesh-based educational trust, barred by the government from admitting medical students, in settling the legal matter, an official said on Wednesday.

Besides Quddusi, Bhawana Pandey, a Delhi-based conduit, B.P. Yadav, Palash Yadav, Sudhir Giri, Biswanath Agrawala, a resident of Odisha and some unidentified public servants have been booked under charges of criminal conspiracy of the Indian Penal Code and Prevention of Corruption Act.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a First Information Report on Tuesday on the basis of information and conducted raids on Wednesday at eight locations in Delhi, Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh and Bhubaneswar in Odisha, an official said.

During the raids, including at the residence of Quddusi in south Delhi's Greater Kailash, the CBI recovered Rs 1.91 crore.

The CBI sleuths recovered Rs 1 crore from the possession of middleman Biswanath Agrawala who received the amount from a hawala dealer and the remaining Rs 91 lakh was seized from others. Agrawala has been detained and could be arrested anytime, said sources.

The CBI FIR said B.P. Yadav and Palash Yadav are managing the Lucknow-based Prasad Educational Trust which runs the Prasad Institute of Medical Sciences.

The institute is among the 46 colleges that have been barred by the government from admitting medical students for the next two years (till 2019) because of substandard facilities and non fulfilment of the required criteria.

"B.P. Yadav and Palash Yadav have been pursuing this matter by having regular meeting in New Delhi and had challenged the debarment in the Supreme Court which in its order on August 1, 2017, had directed the government to consider the materials on record," the FIR said.

The FIR later said: "In compliance thereof, the government afforded an opportunity of hearing to the college and thereafter passed a decision on August 10, 2017, to debar the college for two years, 2017 to 2019, and also authorised the MCI (Medical Council of India) to encash the bank guarantee of Rs 2 crore."

It said that "B.P. Yadav got in touch with retired Odisha High Court Judge I.M. Quddusi and Bhawana Pandey, through Sudhir Giri of Venkateshwara Medical college in Meerut (Uttar Pradesh) and entered into criminal conspiracy for getting the matter settled".

"B.P Yadav, in furtherance of the conspiracy, requested Quddusi and Bhawana Pandey who assured to get the matter settled in the Supreme Court through their contacts and they further engaged Biswanath Agrawala for getting the matter settled."

Agrawala claimed very close contact with senior relevant public functionaries and assured that he would get the matter favourably settled. "However, he demanded huge gratification for inducing public servants by corrupt and illegal means in lieu of help," the FIR said.

--IANS

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