Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under a joint director to probe the multi-crore Saradha chit fund scam in which investors in West Bengal, Odisha and Assam were duped of Rs. 10,000 crore.

The Supreme Court had handed over the probe to the CBI last week after West Bengal police department investigating the case failed to make any headway.

It directed the police forces of the three states to cooperate in the probe with CBI.

The apex court had said that no breakthrough was made in the conspiracy angle, money trail and seizure of properties in the scam.

The CBI will also look into the role of regulators like SEBI, authorities under the Companies Act and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as directed by the apex court.

The court in its order had pointed out that there was yet another aspect which relates to the role of the regulatory authorities.

“Investigation conducted so far puts a question mark on the role of regulatory authorities like SEBI, Registrar of Companies and officials of the RBI within whose respective jurisdictions and areas of operation the scam not only took birth but flourished unhindered,” a bench headed by Justice TS Thakur said in its order.

The Income Tax department has made it clear that there was no pending investigation against former BJP president Nitin Gadkari.

In response to an application filed by a RTI activist Sumit Dalal of Delhi, the Directorate of Income Tax (investigation), Nagpur has said, “There is no inquiry or investigation presently pending in this directorate against Nitin Gadkari of Nagpur”.

BJP sources said today this had vindicated the former party chief’s position that “the allegations of wrong doing levelled against him in January 2013 when he was about to get a second term as the BJP president, were baseless and politically motivated”.

Gadkari, in all his public utterances over the last more than one year, has been asserting that “the timing of this malicious and sinister campaign, mounted through a motivated high voltage media blitz, was part of a conspiracy to tarnish my image,” the sources added.

Dalal had filed an application under the RTI Act, 2005, seeking details of the Income Tax cases pending, if any, against Gadkari.

Terming as serious matter the killing of an undertrial by other inmates, a Delhi court has suggested that the possibility of a “cover-up” by the Rohini Jail authorities to save senior officers cannot be ruled out and said it required an independent probe.

The court pulled up the jail authorities for failing to prevent the April 25 murderous assault on Rajvinder, who was also a witness in a criminal case against his attackers, on the prison premises and not informing it about the incident until the case came up for hearing 10 days later.

The court sought a detailed report from the jail authorities regarding the circumstances under which witness Rajvinder was housed in the same jail and barrack accessible to the accused persons and why the aspect of his death was concealed and withheld from it.

Noting that the jail authorities had suspended junior officers, the court said it could have been an attempt to save those who were actually guilty of culpable negligence.

Additional Sessions Judge Kamini Lau slammed the jail authorities for their failure in keeping a check over inmates who had managed to sneak into a different ward and had killed an undertrial, who was a witness in the case against them.

The court said it was a serious matter that undertrials were having a free access to any place in the jail complex without any inhibitions and added that it required an independent probe.

“…It is a serious matter that the undertrials can have a free access to any place in the complex without any inhibitions in the manner in which it has happened. How is it that undertrial prisoners housed in a different ward could have easily managed to sneak into a different ward duly armed with a ‘kattan’ (a dangerous weapon) without any inhibition, obstruction or anybody stopping them?

“This in fact is a serious matter requiring an independent probe/inquiry. This I say because the manner in which an action has been hurriedly initiated against comparatively junior officers of the rank of Head Warden and Warden by suspending them, is something which gives me a lurking feeling that perhaps something is amiss.

“And therefore, the possibility of this being a cover-up to save the officers of the jail administration actually guilty of culpable negligence cannot be ruled out,” the judge said.

The court’s observation came in a case in which it had received an information on April 26 from the Rohini Jail Superintendent that on April 25, accused Manpreet Singh along with two other inmates assaulted their fellow prisoner Rajvinder, who was lodged in a different ward and was a witness in the criminal case against them.

The authorities informed the court that Rajvinder was attacked on his neck and other body parts with the weapon causing grievous injuries and was taken to hospital.

The judge, however, was not informed by the authorities about Rajvinder’s death and it was only on May 5 when the case came up for hearing, the advocates appearing in the matter disclosed this to the court.

Accused Manpreet was lodged in ward number 2 while Rajvinder was housed in ward number 6.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) today attacked the Election Commission for not taking action against “erring” media houses for showing Narendra Modi’s video speech on the polling day, which is a violation of the Model Code of Conduct and termed it as an “ostrich approach”.

“Aam Aadmi party is shocked to see the gross violation of the MCC by media houses and the ostrich approach of EC today wherein TV News channels have been broadcasting Narendra Modi’s live speeches.

“The whole of India is aware that Modi is a contestant in Varanasi and broadcasting his political speeches today amounts to influencing the voters of Varanasi. Aam Aadmi party hopes this complaint will wake the EC from its stupor and the people will witness consummate action instantaneously,” AAP said in a letter to the Election Commission.

It has also urged the Commission to take “strong” and “exemplary” action and questioned its silence against media houses. Channels of more than three media houses aired Modi’s speech.

“Model Code of Conduct is applicable on all citizens of India and media houses are no exception. By not initiating suo-moto action against these media channels, is the EC indicating its submissiveness.

“During an election, it is the ECs bounded duty to conduct it in a free and fair manner. Why isn’t the EC issuing any direction to these news channels to stop the broadcast forthwith Why is the EC silent on this violation” the letter added.

“We demand the EC to take strong and exemplary action against the erring TV Channels immediately and upholding its role of the sentinel of the constitution during polls,” the letter added.

With polling in Varanasi underway, the BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Modi, in his message, spoke about the ‘Ganga Jamuna tehzeeb’ of the holy city and appealed to its voters there to reflect its spirit of unity and harmony through their votes.

“I appeal to people to cast their votes in the last phase of polls with the same zeal and enthusiasm they have shown so far. My brothers and sisters in Kashi, the honour of Kashi is in peace, harmony and unity….We should love each other and take everybody along,” Modi said.