'Amar wants me dead'

Kanpur businessman says Singh planned an attack on his life after he refused to withdraw Rs 500-crore money laundering case filed against the neta; mentions Amitabh Bachchan as co-accused

Kanpur businessman says Singh planned an attack on his life after he refused to withdraw Rs 500-crore money laundering case filed against the neta; mentions Amitabh Bachchan as co-accused

Even as Delhi gave a rapturous welcome to former Samajwadi Party honcho Amar Singh on Monday morning and

Under threat? The businessman, Shivkant Tripathi, was reportedly fired at last week when he was travelling from Kanpur to Lucknow. He blames Amar Singh for the incident.

rumours of his new political outfit gained strength throughout the day, there seems to be no end to hints of scandals from his past.

A Kanpur-based businessman has alleged former Samajwadi Party honcho Amar Singh is trying to get him killed because he has filed a case of money laundering and fraud worth Rs 500 crore against him.

The 52-year-old businessman, Shivkant Tripathi, was reportedly fired at last week when he was travelling from Kanpur to Lucknow in his Innova car. "I have been receiving threat calls from Amar Singh's men to withdraw the case I filed in 2009.u00a0 The attack was also planned by him to eliminate me. He has been threatening me and my family to file an affidavit and withdraw the case," said Tripathi.

The attack
Tripathi alleged, on January 12, when he was on his way to Lucknow from Kanpur in his Innova (UP-78-BW1115) a truck, whose number he could not note, overtook his car on the Kanpur-Lucknow highway. "About three to four people were travelling in the truck and fired at my vehicle. A bullet hit my car's side mirror and it was shattered. Though I was not injured in the attack, I lost control of the vehicle and in the mayhem, could not note down the registration number of the truck. The truck sped away in the commotion," he said.
A case of attempt to murder against the unidentified men who fired at Tripathi has been registered at Unnao district, about 50 km away from Lucknow.

The case against Singh
Tripathi had filed a case against Amar Singh alleging the leader of money laundering and fraud in which Amitabh Bachchan and Singh's wife, Pankaja Kumari Singh, are mentioned as co-accused.
The case is being investigated by the Economic Offence Wing of the Uttar Pradesh police.

A law graduate, Tripathi started to investigate Singh's assets after he allegedly donated Rs 42 crore to the Clinton Foundation in 2008. "I have no political affiliations but started investigating after I heard about his large donation to the Clinton Foundation. I smelled a rat as in 2008, Singh had declared to the Election Commission he had assets amounting to only Rs 37 crore. I investigated and found loopholes in his financial dealings. I discovered Singh had made cores through the UP Development Council (UPDC) that he headed. I filed a case of money laundering against Singh in October 2009.

After that he tried to influence me and even offered me money to withdraw the case. When I did not agree, he started threatening me. Such calls were made to my wife, who is a government servant and my two sons as well," said Tripathi. He alleged, the threat calls were made from phone numbers in Delhi, Noida, Mumbai, Pune and Faridabad. "Recently, I have been receiving phone calls from private numbers that are generally issued to influential people. The callers mostly use fictitious names like Dharmendra and Siddiqui," he said.

Tripathi alleged the calls and the recent attack have disturbed him and affected his regular lifestyle. "After the attacks I fear to venture out alone. I avoid traveling late at night," he said.

'I want security'
Tripathi said after he started receiving the threat calls in October he requested the state government to provide him with personal security guards. "The state government did not respond to my request. In January, I repeated my request as the frequency of calls increased," he said. The businessman plans to approach the Allahabad High Court soon to get himself security cover from the government. Despite repeated attempts, Amar Singh couldn't be contacted.

The case against Amar Singh

>> An FIR was registered by Kanpur-based businessman Shivakant Tripathi on October 15, 2009 in Kanpur against Amitabh Bachchan and former Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh, accusing them of being involved in a Rs 500-crore money laundering scam. >> Tripathi accused Singh of floating half-a-dozen companies among which 55 were allegedly amalgamated with the intent of siphoning off black money. Bachchan figures as a key stake holder in most of these companies while Singh's wife Pankaja Singh is shown as a partner. >> The companies, mostly registered in Kolkata, were identified as Eastern India Chemicals Pvt Ltd, Sarvottam Pvt Ltd, Pankaja Art and Credit Pvt Ltd, EDCL Infrastructure Pvt Ltd, EDCL Powers Ltd and Energy Development Company. >> Initially, the Mayawati government in Uttar Pradesh forwarded the case to the Kolkata police on grounds that all the companies mentioned in the FIR were registered in the Bengal capital. The Kolkata police returned the matter to the Uttar Pradesh police, contending the cases could not be registered in Kolkata as the cause of action arose in Uttar Pradesh. >> The case was then handed over to the Economic Offences Wing of the Uttar Pradesh Criminal Investigation Department, which is now investigating the case. The case is being heard in the Allahabad High Court and the next date of hearing is January 28. >> Interestingly, after the case was filed in October 2009, Singh said he would sue Mayawati for "indulging in criminal conspiracy" against him, his wife Pankaja and Amitabh Bachchan as part of her "political vendetta". >> "I have got nothing to hide. Everything is in public domain and on the Internet. These are public limited companies, which are audited by auditors. It is easy to bring charges against Amitabh and myself, as this gets greater TRPs for television channels," Singh had said. >> Meanwhile, before the Rajya Sabha polls in 2008, Singh had declared his total assets were worth Rs 37 crore. However, the online list of donors to the US-based Clinton Foundation shows he had made a donation of Rs 43 crore to the organisation. As per reports Singh's name figured in the list among Clinton Foundation donors who contributed a sum between $1 million and $5 million to the foundation. >>u00a0A complaint was also filed before the poll panel to disqualify Amar Singh for his failure to disclose to the panel the large donation he made and not obtaining the required permission from RBI for the donation.

The UP Development Council

The Uttar Pradesh Development Council (UPDC) was set up in 2004 by the then Mulayam Singh Yadav government in the state to promote investment. The much-hyped UPDC was chaired by Amar Singh with top industrialists like Anil Ambani, Adi Godrej, Kumar mangalam Birla and Subroto Roy as members. Amitabh Bachchan was appointed its brand ambassador. The UPDC was disbanded by the Mayawati government in 2007.