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CBI grills Mayawati in Taj Corridor case
Our Correspondent

Lucknow, September 1
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), probing the Taj Heritage Corridor (THC) case, interrogated former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Mayawati at her Mall Avenue residence here today, sources said.

“The interrogation continued for over two hours. The former Chief Minister was co-operative,” a CBI source told The Tribune here.

A five-member CBI team, led by DIG Neeraj Nayan, reached the former CM’s residence at around 3 pm and was closeted with Ms Mayawati for over two hours.

“The former Chief Minister was shaky, but she spilled the beans,” one of the members of the interrogation party said. The CBI also made Ms Mayawati to sign her written statement.

If need be, Ms Mayawati could be grilled again, the source said.

Ms Mayawati was among many others questioned in the Rs 175-crore Taj Heritage Corridor scam. The erstwhile state government had even released Rs 17 crore.

The CBI team has so far questioned Chief Secretary D.S. Bagga, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Panna Lal Punia and Finance Minister Naveen Chandra Vajpayee. On Saturday last, CBI sleuths grilled Principal Secretary (Irrigation) Satish Agarwal in this regard.

The former Chief Minister had earlier claimed that she did not know anything about the project. “The state bureaucracy had kept me in the dark and when I came to know about this project, I suspended Environment Secretary R.K. Sharma, “Ms Mayawati had said in one of her press conferences.

“Today Ms Mayawati explained her position in this case and told us what we wanted to know,” the source said.

The CBI is holding an inquiry into the case following orders from the Supreme Court. The court has asked the investigating agency to grill “high and mighty”. It has asked the CBI to submit its report by September 11.