Himachal BJP MP caught accepting bribe, case filed

The MP was caught taking cash in camera, case registered under section 9 of the Prevention of Corruption Act

The Himachal Pradesh Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau Thursday booked sitting BJP parliamentarian Virender Kashyap who was allegedly caught accepting cash on camera.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has retained the one-time MP from the Shimla (reserved) seat.

"A case against Kashyap was registered under section 9 of the Prevention of Corruption Act," a police official told IANS.

"The case was registered after the authenticity of the video CD was proved by the Central Forensic Science Laboratory of Chandigarh," said the investigating official.

In November, the Himachal Pradesh High Court issued notice to Kashyap on a petition for quashing a police inquiry report giving a clean chit to him after he was allegedly caught accepting cash.

Petitioner Devashish Bhattacharya has alleged that the state government inquiry in 2010 was not fair and aimed at hushing up the matter. He also sought a fresh inquiry into the case.

Police reinvestigated the case after the intervention of the high court.

Official sources said the video CD was in circulation in January 2010 in which Kashyap was seen accepting a bribe from a private party for helping it secure permission for setting up an educational institution in the state.

At that time, the Prem Kumar Dhumal-led BJP government was in power.