The criminal investigation department (CID) has asked the special investigation team probing the high-profile Nikhil Priyadarshi case of alleged sexual exploitation of a girl to look into the purchase of 40 cottahs of land from partners of a non-banking financial company (NBFC) near Saguna Mor in Patna.
Priyadarshi, an auto dealer, is facing charges of providing fake land papers for taking a huge loan from a bank. The CBI has registered a separate case in this connection.
Since Priyadarshi is accused in both the cases, the police suspect he had used the girl to lure one of the partners of the firm to seal the 40-cottah-land deal.
The girl had named one of the partners in her initial statement before the SC/ST Police Station last year.
The NBFC had once purchased chunks of land to start townships on the outskirts of Patna. It, however, did not work out. Priyadarshi's automobile showroom is located near one of the plots of land owned by the company.
Priyadarshi is now in police custody for allegedly sexually exploiting the girl, daughter of a former minister. Another high-profile accused, Congress leader Brajesh Pandey, is yet to be arrested.
The case has triggered a tussle between two senior IPS officials - additional director-general of police (ADG-CID) Vinay Kumar and inspector-general (weaker sections) Anil Kishore Yadav - over the manner in which the investigations are going on.
Yadav had in his report suggested that the investigation should be handed over to a team headed by DSP-rank officer Mamta Kalyani.
According to sources in the police headquarters, ADG Vinay has slammed a show-cause notice on Yadav on how he gave the CBI information on the case without taking into confidence his senior official (ADG-CID). Vinay alleged that the weaker sections division comes under the CID and the IG had therefore violated rules by unilaterally providing the information.
Yadav is reported to have replied that he was the senior-most officer in the weaker sections division and he is not required to take approval from a senior.
In another development, the SIT is reported to have sought clarification from the CBSE on the year of birth of the survivor. The birth certificate provided to Notre Dame Academy states 1996 as the birth year. However, the girl could not clear the exams and appeared from another CBSE-affiliated school in Muzaffarpur. The certificate from this school states 1998 as the year of her birth.
The SIT has asked the CBSE to clarify which of the two birth certificates was correct. The police have slapped charges against Nikhil and his associates under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act, 2012. Finding out the actual age of the survivor is essential in the case, said a police officer.
The case continues to create ripples within the police headquarters with allegations that a section of IPS officials tried to save the accused persons by putting pressure on the investigators.
"An ADG-rank official is making rounds of the police headquarters to save the accused," alleged another police officer.
