UP Lokayukta Justice N.K. Mehrotra Wednes-day recommended a CBI inquiry on corruption charges against Naseem-uddin Siddiqui, one of the BSP’s most powerful ministers, and his wife Husna Siddiqui, a Legislative Council member.
The decision in the middle of elections — that too in Bundelkhand — could not have come at a worse time for the ruling BSP, as it is bound to do damage. Mr Mehrotra wrote to Ms Mayawati urging her to initiate a probe by the CBI and the ED.
The Lokayukta said an inquiry had been recommended against the two for having assets disproportionate to their known sources of income. A preliminary inquiry into the Siddiquis’ assets revealed a “clearcut case of money-laundering”, which should be probed in detail by an investigation agency.
A complaint was filed against Mr Siddiqui and his wife by Jagdish Narain Shukla, a journalist and lawyer, who accused the two of owning benami properties. The Lokayukta said there was a complaint that Husna Siddiqui had formed the QF Educational Society from illegal sources of income, land was purchased using black money by undervaluation and through irregularities in the Bundelkhand Area Development Fund. The society existed only on paper and even its members were unaware about significant details.