The Central Bureau of Investigation has filed its report with the Lokpal in the alleged cash-for-query scam case against Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra and businessman Darshan Hiranandani, officials said on Monday. The agency had filed an FIR on March 21 last year against Moitra and Hiranandani under sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act on a Lokpal reference.
It was allegedly found that Moitra engaged in corrupt acts such as, but not restricted to, accepting bribes and other undue benefits from Hiranandani on account of "compromising her parliamentary privileges and national security risks by sharing her Lok Sabha login credentials."
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The agency has filed its report in the case before the Lokpal, which will determine further action in the case, officials added. Moitra, who had been the member of Krishnanagar seat in the previous Lok Sabha, was disqualified from the House in December 2023 for "unethical behaviour", which she has appealed against in the Supreme Court.
Moitra defeated Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Amrita Roy in the 2024 general elections to retain her position in 18th Lok Sabha. The anti-corruption agency Lokpal ordered Central Bureau of Investigation to conduct a preliminary investigation in the case after receiving the findings of its preliminary inquiry into grievances filed by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey against Moitra. Dubey had alleged that Moitra had attempted to ask questions in the House in exchange for money and gifts from Dubai-based industrialist Darshan Hiranandani to initiate an attack on industrialist Gautam Adani and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, among others.
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