CNN-IBN impact: ED to get Natwar data

New Delhi: The CNN-IBN Special Investigation report, which showed hawala kingpin Chetan Gupta admitting on camera that he was involved in money laundering operations for former Union minister Natwar Singh and his wife Herminder Kumari, caused ripples in the vigilance establishment on Saturday.

It is likely that the data found on Chetan Gupta's pen drive will soon come under the scrutiny of the court as well as the Enforcement Directorate.

Gupta, a Delhi-based businessman, was arrested by Punjab Vigilance Bureau on May 17 in connection with the Rs 3,000-crore Ludhiana City Centre scam, in which former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh and 18 others have also been charged.

Sources in the Vigilance Bureau told CNN-IBN that they will soon submit the data found on Chetan Gupta's pen drive to the court of law. Under the IT Act of 2000, any computer-generated data, including those on pen drives, is admissible as evidence. This is because any such entry will have a date of creation and can be easily verified.

Sources at Vigilance Bureau told CNN-IBN that the records of black money and hawala transactions will also be sent to the Information and Technology department and Enforcement Directorate.

Vinod Ghai, the counsel for Amarinder Singh, however, claimed that Chetan Gupta was pressured to give his statement.

"The statement was recorded by the Vigilance Department when he (Gupta) was in their custody. So the first thing I would like to say is that this statement seems to have been recorded under duress. This statement recorded under duress is not voluntary. So it cannot be taken up against anybody," he told CNN-IBN.

The expose also drew political reaction, with the BJP lapping it up to target the Congress party. "Corruption and Congress are synonymous. They are not serious about the issue," senior BJP leader VK Malhotra said.

The Congress reacted cautiously. Talking to CNN-IBN, a Congress spokesperson said his party will look into the investigation and will not interfere with the work of the investigating agency in this regard.