UP govt shifts probe into FIR against Amar Singh to Kolkata police

The case lodged against Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh and others for alleged financial fraud amounting to Rs500 crore would be handed over to Kolkata police for further investigation, Uttar Pradesh government said today.

"Preliminary investigation has revealed that majority of the companies mentioned in the FIR were registered in Kolkata. Therefore, it has been decided to transfer the case to Kolkata police for further investigation," cabinet secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh told reporters here. 
 
"DIG Kanpur is taking necessary steps for transfering the case to Kolkata police. A formal request has also been made with Kolkata's Commissioner of Police in this regard," Singh said.

"During preliminary inquiry, the station house office examined the records and found that majority of the companies named in the FIR were registered in Kolkata. Therefore, it was decided that it would be appropriate if the case is investigated by the Kolkata police," the cabinet secretary said.

On October 15, one Shiva Kant Tiwari lodged an FIR with Babupurwa police station in Kanpur district against Amar Singh and his wife Pankaja accusing them of amalgamating companies allegedly owned or run by them for converting black money into white, a charge he dismissed as "conjecture".

The name of actor Amitabh Bachchan also figured in the 14-page complaint as director of one of the companies, ADG Brij Lal had said yesterday. The complaint alleged that between 2003 and 2008, Singh and his wife had amalgamated their companies with other holdings and had amassed nearly Rs500 crore in the process.