CALCUTTA, February 23: Jute baron Arun Bajoria, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate last Saturday, has hinted at a "conspiracy" between former Bank of Rajasthan vice-chairman Keshav Bangur and ED officials aimed at pinning false charges on him.Bajoria (53) was arrested at a premier city nursing home on charges of transfering $1.25 million (nearly Rs 5 crore now) to an overseas bank account of media baron Ashok Jain in violation of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (Fera).
In a letter to the Delhi-based director of the ED on January 27 this year, four days before he got himself admitted to the nursing home, Bajoria cited several instances to question whether there is a "conspiracy between Keshav Bangur and Fera".
According to Bajoria, allegations were brought against him on the basis of a statement made by Keshav Bangur on March 5 last year, and no document reporting such a deal was seized by the ED officials in a raid on his house and offices immediately after Bangur's interrogation thesame day. "I am being involved in the case by Fera on the basis of a statement made by Keshav Bangur on March 5, 1997, that I have transferred $1.25 million to the account of Ashok Jain at his request who in turn repaid the amount subsequently by way of share losses. No document in respect of such a transaction has been seized and (the) aforesaid contention is totally baseless and incorrect."
The letter, which criticises the actions of the ED, says: "Keshav Bangur by virtue of the above statement has admitted Fera violations but he was allowed to go scot-free."
Bajoria, who owns eight jute mills in West Bengal, also noted that though ED officials claim that the raids on his property were conducted after the interrogation of Bangur, in reality the raids on Bangur's and his residences were simultaneous.
"While moving the Special Leave Petition for cancellation of my bail...Fera (ED) has mentioned that the raid at Arun Bajoria's house took place after the statement was made by Keshav Bangur on March 5,1997, whereas the truth is that the raid took place simultaneously at my and Keshav Bangur's place," Bajoria mentioned in his letter.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
