NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has stumbled upon startling evidence while probing former Union Minister Shiela Kaul’s connections with Anoop Srivastava, the Assistant Collector of Customs in Mumbai whose house was raided last week in connection with the housing scam. It seems that Anoop has had curious links with god man Chandraswami, notorious killer Babloo Srivastava and even with henchmen of Dubai based gang lord Dawood Ibrahim. According to sources, “the damning disclosures have added an altogether new dimension to the scam. It has opened a can of worms.”

For one, Anoop is the younger brother of Raju Srivastava, now on the run and wanted by the CBI in several criminal cases. In almost all the cases where Babloo is the main accused including that of the murder of senior custom officer L.D. Arora in Allahabad (Uttar Pradesh) several years ago Raju figures as his accomplice. An Indian Revenue Service officer of 1984 batch, Anoop Srivastava was in Delhi customs till one and a half years ago, holding the sensitive post of Assistant Collector.

However, a damning report by a Central intelligence agency which indicted Anoop of “sponsoring smuggling activities at the New Delhi’s I G I airports” proved to be his undoing. It was at Delhi, disclosed sources, that Anoop developed links with Babloo and Chandraswami. He was allegedly a frequent visitor to the god man’s ashram in Qutub Institutional Area. “It was quite normal for Anoop to fly down to Delhi four or five times a month,” say these sources. The Srivastava Kaul links, it is learnt, were forged much earlier than that. Call it a coincidence that both the Srivastava brothers hail from Lucknow, while Kaul contested for the Lok Sabha seat from the same place.

A few months after the adverse Report against Anoop, he was shifted to Mumbai Customs. So Strong was the intelligence report that the then Principal Collector of Mumbai Customs, Surjit Singh, created an altogether new and totally insignificant post of Assistant Collector (Dak and Computers) for Anoop. Surjit retired in July 1995. Soon Anoop was transferred again, this time to a plum post of Assistant Collector.

Alleged to be Kaul’s conduit in Mumbai, Anoop reportedly arranged for several out of turn allotments of Government houses in the land starved port city. It is no secret that most of the better accommodations in Mumbai are with the senior Customs and Income Tax officials. A “regular” in Kaul’s circle, Anoop would often help her in her shopping jaunts in Mumbai, according to the sources.

The investigations so far have revealed Anoop’s involvement in duping the Jag Jivan Housing Society of Rs 10.90 lakh. Eager to develop a piece of plot in Vasant Kunj, south Delhi, the office-bearers of the society allegedly parted with a part of the money at Kaul’s 9, Mufti Lal Nehru Marg residence. Anoop’s possible links with Dawood’s men Babloo himself was a close associate of the feared don are also being probed by the CBI.

Article extracted from this publication >>  July 17, 1996