Attempted conning of UP medical college chairman: CBI searches against 3 accused

The CBI on Saturday carried out searches at four locations in Delhi and Ghaziabad in a case of attempted conning of the Venkateshwara Medical College chairman by three persons on the pretext of getting him favors in an agency case against the institute, officials said. The searches followed an FIR by the agency against the three accused -- Rakesh Tiwari, Raj Kumar Gupta and Vipin Agrawal.

The accused had allegedly intended to take Rs 50-60 lakh from Sudhir Giri, the Chairman of the Meerut-based Venkateshwara Group of Institutions, on the pretext of helping him in a CBI case using purported links with the investigating officer, they said. Giri, along with former Odisha High Court judge I M Quddusi, is accused in a corruption case filed by the CBI.

The searches were conducted at three locations in Delhi, including the Ashram Chowk and Kalkaji residences of Tiwari and Gupta respectively, and at the residence of Agrawal in Ghaziabad, they said. It is alleged Tiwari got in touch with Gupta and Agrawal claiming his contacts with the investigating officer of the CBI, following which they entered into a criminal conspiracy but could not succeed to collect money from Giri, they said.

The CBI had carried out a preliminary inquiry which revealed that in furtherance of the criminal conspiracy in order to gain trust and confidence of Gupta and Agrawal, Tiwari told them that CBI had 160 recorded telephonic conversations pertaining to the case against Giri. He even told them some specific words used in the intercepted telephonic conversations, they said.

Tiwari further told them that he could provide a copy of those recorded telephonic conversations, if Giri was interested in obtaining favors in the matter, they said. Another member of the alleged conspiracy, Sudhir Gupta, who had demanded money from Giri is now dead, they said.