In horse trading case, CBI summons former chief minister of Uttarakhand, Harish Rawat

A top Congress leader and the former chief minister of Uttarakhand were called by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday in relation to a case involving bribery and horse trade.

 

The central inquiry agency detained Harish Rawat in 2019 on suspicion of engaging in horse-trading. Umesh Kumar, the CEO of Samachar Plus News Channel, and Harak Singh Rawat, a former cabinet minister, are also charged in this case.

 

At the Jolly Grant Hospital in Dehradun, where the former chief minister is receiving medical attention after a minor vehicle accident earlier this week, CBI detectives met Harish Rawat. Harish Rawat was given the summons by officials at the hospital.

 

The Congress leader shared the images of his meeting with CBI officials on Facebook and wrote: ‘Today, at Jolly Grant Hospital, a significant organisation also arrived to inquire about my health. Friends from CBI came and served me a notice, which was quite surprising. I remarked that on the day when people come to the hospital to inquire about one’s well-being, the CBI must have thought that something more critical was endangering the integrity, unity, security, and democracy of the country. That’s why they served me a notice right at the hospital. Bravo, CBI!!’

 

The case was filed after the investigative agency submitted a report on the preliminary inquiry in a sealed cover and the Uttarakhand High Court on September 30, 2019, permitted the CBI to file a First Information Report (FIR) against the Congress politician.

 

Then-Uttarakhand chief minister Rawat was shown in an alleged video negotiating a plan to buy the support of rebel MLAs who had defected to the BJP in order to regain power.

 

Following a news channel sting operation in 2016, Harish Rawat was accused of being involved in horse dealing. Rawat’s political behaviour was called into question when the operation caught him talking on tape about possible MLA poaching.

 

A CBI investigation was ordered by the state government and the high court in Uttarakhand in 2017, following the fall of Harish Rawat’s government.

 

The CBI has questioned the former chief minister once. From 2014 to 2017, Harish Rawat, a five-time member of parliament, led Uttarakhand as chief minister.