CBI flies former UP chief secretary to Lucknow

Lucknow, Oct 5 (UNI) A CBI team today brought former Uttar Pradesh chief secretary Akhand Pratap Singh, arrested recently on charges of corruption, here to get some documents verified.

Singh was flown here by a five-member team by a commercial flight. He was then rushed to the local CBI office for interrogation. The former Chief Secretary adjudged the most corrupt bureaucrat by the IAS association a few years ago, was later driven to his Vishwas Khand residence in the posh Gomti Nagar area.

The CBI team reportedly wanted to get some documents kept at his residence verified. The documents pertain to the immovable assets owned by him and his family members in Uttar Pradesh and neighbouring Uttarakhand.

Recently, the CBI had raided his residence and sealed some lockers. At present, the former bureaucrat is under CBI custody and would be flown back to Delhi this evening.

On September 25, the CBI had arrested Singh, who was the Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh during the previous Mulayam Singh Yadav regime, for his alleged involvement in the 2005 disproportionate assets case.

Singh, a 1967 batch IAS officer, was arrested from his Vasant Kunj farmhouse in New Delhi.

The former UP Chief Secretary allegedly tampered with evidence, influenced witnesses and did not cooperate with the CBI in investigation of the case registered in March 2005.

Singh has been charged with converting black money into immovable assets acquired in the names of his family members, relatives, friends as well as some private limited companies.

The probe so far has led the CBI to lay its hands on Singh's 84 immovable properties in prime areas of Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Greater Noida, Lucknow, Bahraich and Nainital (Uttarakhand).

While working as Vice-Chairman of the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA), Singh allegedly acquired 10 plots in the names of various people.

UNI