Personal secretaries of three UP ministers arrested for seeking bribes
Lucknow, Jan 6 : A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Uttar Pradesh Police has arrested the personal secretaries of state ministers Archana Tripathi, Sandeep Singh and Om Prakash Rajbhar on charges of corruption and bribery.
"On getting sufficient evidence against the secretariat staff members, they have been arrested and sent to jail. The chief minister has a zero-tolerance towards corruption," the Uttar Pradesh government said in a statement late on Saturday night.
On December 28, the three were suspended on graft charges following a sting operation by a news channel.
They were suspended on orders of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who also directed officials to register a police case against them, a state government release said.
In accordance with Adityanath's direction, the matter will be probed by SIT and it will submit its report within 10 days after taking statements of all parties in the case, it said.
The SIT will be led by Additional Director General of Police, Lucknow Zone, Rajiv Krishna.
A sting operation was conducted by a TV channel purportedly showing three personal secretaries of ministers allegedly seeking bribes in return for favours such as transfers and issuing contracts.
In the sting operation, Om Prakash Kashyap, personal secretary of Backward Welfare Minister Om Prakash Rajbhar is purportedly seen asking for Rs 40 lakh for a transfer.
Rajbhar, who is a minister from the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), said he had removed his personal secretary and written to the chief minister to take stern action against him.
In the same sting operation, personal secretary of Minister of State for Mining Archana Pandey was shown allegedly striking a deal with the channel's reporter for getting him mining contracts in about six districts.
Santosh Awasthi, personal secretary to MoS Basic Education Sandeep Singh, is also seen in the sting operation allegedly working out a deal for a contract for books and seeking his own cut.
Singh is the grandson of former UP chief minister and present Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh.
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Bhojshala complex registered as 'mosque' in old revenue records: Muslim side to MP HC
Indore (PTI): The disputed Bhojshala Temple-Kamal Maula Mosque complex has historically been registered as a 'mosque' in revenue records and available sources don't clearly mention any Saraswati temple established by then-king Raja Bhoj, the Muslim side has told the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
The Hindu community considers Bhojshala a temple dedicated to Goddess Saraswati, while the Muslim side calls the 11th-century monument Kamal Maula Mosque. The disputed complex located in Dhar district is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
During the hearing before the HC's Indore bench of Justices Vijay Kumar Shukla and Justice Alok Awasthi on Wednesday, Qazi Moinuddin questioned two PILs filed as intervenors in the Bhojshala case by an organisation named Hindu Front for Justice, one Kuldeep Tiwari and another individual.
Moinuddin claims to be a descendant of Sufi saint Maulana Kamaluddin Chishti and the 'Sajjadanashin' (spiritual head, guru, or successor of a Sufi shrine, khanqah, or religious site).
The PILs state that Bhojshala is actually a Saraswati temple and only Hindus should be granted the right to worship at the disputed complex.
Moinuddin's lawyer, Noor Ahmed Sheikh, claimed in the court that his client's ancestors, who are descendants of Maulana Kamaluddin Chishti, have historically held titles to the complex, and the site was also recorded as a "mosque" in government revenue records.
He contended that those associated with the management of the Kamal Maula Mosque, located within the complex, have been in "continuous and peaceful occupation" of the site for a long time.
Citing Muslim law, Sheikh argued that in the case of religious property, particularly a mosque or its related properties, officials such as the Sajjadanashin and Mutawalli (person entrusted with management, maintenance, and administration of a Waqf), and their descendants, not only have the right to intervene, but also have the right to manage and use such a structure.
Citing provisions of the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act 1904, the Muslim side's lawyer said the term "in-charge of the property" is used in this law, which makes it clear that the person or party who has been in charge of a property for a long time has rights over it.
During the hearing, Touseef Warsi, the lawyer representing the Maulana Kamaluddin Welfare Society of Dhar, claimed that Hindu parties in both PILs had made "misleading representations" regarding historical facts before the high court.
He further claimed that available historical sources do not clearly mention the existence of a Saraswati temple established by Raja Bhoj, the legendary king of the Parmar dynasty who ruled Dhar from 1010 to 1055.
The ASI, a central government agency, has adopted three different positions in the lawsuits filed regarding the Bhojshala dispute, changing its answers from time to time, and this situation raises serious questions about judicial scrutiny of the complex, Warsi submitted.
He raised objections regarding the ASI's process of scientific survey of the Bhojshala complex, carried out on the HC order in 2024, and the method of videography and requested the court to examine these objections.
The hearing in the Bhojshala case will continue on Thursday.
The HC has been regularly hearing four petitions and one writ appeal since April 6, contesting the religious nature of the monument.
