The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probing the Adarsh society scam on Wednesday arrested four more people in the case, including an IAS officer.
The accused Pradeep Vyas, the then collector of Mumbai, currently works as secretary (expenditure), ministry of finance, Government of Maharashtra.
He has been charged with allegedly misleading Parliament on the Adarsh land issue. Also, he did not convey to the state the defence department’s warning that the building may pose a threat to the defence area. Vyas’ wife Seema, also an IAS officer, was reportedly given a flat in lieu of it.
The second arrest was made in Hyderabad where formerMajor General AR Kumar was taken into custody. He is accused of fraudulently issuing a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) to the project. His son was an alleged beneficiary of a flat in the tainted tower.
Kumar, who was the then General Officer Commanding (GOC) of Mumbai and Gujarat region, was presented in a local court in Hyderabad on Wednesday. He will be brought to the city for further interrogation on a transit remand, said a CBI source.
Kanhaiyalal Gidwani, one of the promoters of the societyreleased on bail by the court in a different case, was also arrested on Wednesday.
According to sources, another accused, Major General (retired) TK Kaul has also been arrested by the CBI.
Three others, including a bureaucrat, were arrested earlier on Tuesday. The trio was presented in the court on Wednesday, which remanded them in police custody till March 31. The CBI claimed in the court, that the investigation is at a crucial stage but the trio are not co-operating in the probe.
The arrests are being made after the Bombay high court came down heavily on the premier investigating agency for not making any arrests in the case, especially since the accused are highly influential people.
