CBI chief Ranjit Sinha cornered over visitor's list of ADAG officials

He's been registering cases and enquiries against all kinds of wrongdoings, but the register of visitors to Central Bureau of Investigation Director Ranjit Sinha's residence has got him cornered now.

Not one to be boxed in for long, Sinha on Wednesday came out roaring, telling MAIL TODAY: "This is a gross intrusion into my privacy. My personal space has been violated, I have a family, a wife, a son and a daughter, they have affiliations, associations, friends, we have lived in Delhi for the last sixteen years and we know a lot of people, does that mean we are fraternising with criminals?" Sinha couldn't stop boiling over.

"There is an unauthenticated and unverified register doing the rounds and scandalous allegations are being levelled against me," he thundered. Sinha suspects foul play in the emergence of the visitors' register which is now in the public domain.

"Let me tell you that as CBI chief I am a 'Z' category protectee with both Delhi Police and Indo-Tibetan Border Police monitoring my security. There are two authorised registers maintained by Delhi Police at my 2 Janpath residence - one is with respect to my personal movement while the other is the diary run by Delhi Police for senior officers to check on the duty roster.

If someone is maintaining a third, what can I do?" Lawyer Prashant Bhushan-who had earlier moved Supreme Court seeking a direction from the apex court directing Sinha to stay away from the 2G case alleging a cover up job and shielding of Reliance ADAG officials-has now sought a probe into who has been visiting Sinha's house and why.

'I have met everyone,some as CBI director and others as friends, but you cannot attribute ulterior motive to these meetings.Have I committed a crime?', says Ranjit Sinha CBI Director

In his plea seeking a probe, Bhushan has alleged that entry register of Sinha's official residence "portrays a very disturbing and explosive material coming in the way, virtually interfering with the administration of justice in several sensitive cases." The matter comes up for hearing is on Thursday.

Battle

The case has turned into a bitter battle between Sinha and Bhushan.

"The CBI Director has been changing his stand after the details from visitors' diary emerged. First he asked what is wrong in meeting accused persons to know their version. How can he do it without the presence of the Investigating Officer of a case, and that too 50 times, or sometimes thrice a day? There is something unsavoury happening which calls for a thorough probe.

Then he denies the existence of such a register. All the facts can be authenticated from the guards who were at the residence," Bhushan said. That's not all that Sinha has said. "I have been with CBI for the last 21 months, the 2G case chargesheet was filed long before I arrived on the scene.

Whatever petitioner Prashant Bhushan is alleging is palpably false. I don't disagree with the fact that I met Reliance Communication executives (ADAG employees A.N. Sethuraman and Tony Jesudasan).

I know them for a long time, I have not taken any decision which will cause benefit to anybody, so why this witch-hunt?" Sinha sees a sinister design in this "malicious" propaganda. "There has to be a purpose. I am not disputing that I have met these people, I have met everyone, I have met some in my capacity as CBI director, others because they are my friends, but you cannot attribute ulterior motive to these meetings. I have met Moin Qureshi. Is he an accused in any case?

So where is the harm? In my capacity as CBI director, people of all hues come to me with different grievances, complaints and even to pass information as sources, so what is Mr Bhushan's problem with that? Have I committed a crime?"

Asked by MAIL TODAY about his meetings with coal accused, Sinha was equally aggressive, "Can I ask an MP not to meet me (referring to Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Darda's son Devendra whose name appears in the alleged diary), after all he has already been charged, I am not doing any favours to him. Equally, (Coal India employee) Mithilesh whose name appears many times is a family friend for years, so how can you level these absurd allegations? A.P. Singh is a former CBI director and my immediate predecessor; should I tell him that I can't meet you?This purported register with entries of various names is being used to sully my image and undermine the work that the CBI is doing without fear or favour."

Support

Sinha has a supporter in senior lawyer Ram Jethmalani. "The present CBI director is the most fair and honest person. My learned friend Prashant Bhushan has a habit of filing notes and not affidavits before the court making insinuations against the integrity of persons," he said. Jethmalani represents 2G scam accused Shahid Balwa.

In association with Mail Today Bureau