CBI raids Dixit for helping goon get passport

12 Feb2010 JAIPUR: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday carried out raids at five locations, including the residence and office of senior IAS officer and secretary of Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) Sanjay Dixit and a history-sheeter Ranjeet Singh Panwar. The raids were conducted following a high court order that was passed a fortnight ago in a passport verification case in which Dixit was accused of helping Singh get his passport.
The CBI raids happened at a time when Dixit was busy with preparations for the forthcoming India-South Africa ODI slated for February 21 at SMS Stadium in the city. Although the raids were in compliance with the recent court order, the promptness shown by CBI led to speculations on whether there was a political angle to the episode as Dixit had been at loggerheads with several factions in the state. His rising clout has also caused much heartburn among bureaucrats and in political circles.
CBI spokesperson Harsh Bhal told TOI from New Delhi that during the raids some documents proving a nexus between Dixit and Singh have been recovered and will be included in the investigation into the passport verification case. “I would not be able to comment on property-related documents seized during the raids as they are not relevant to our investigation. We have seized a lot of documents. They are being examined,” he said.                                                                                                                                                      Dixit had allegedly ensured a passport for Singh under the tatkal scheme by issuing him a verification certificate despite the fact that the latter had many criminal cases pending against him. He was declared a history-sheeter of Mahesh Nagar police station. The Jaipur police had arrested Singh from IGI airport in New Delhi in July 2007 when he was on his way to China as a member of a sports delegation.
Over 35 cops conducted raids at three places: Dixit’s government quarters in Gandhi Nagar area, his office in Jaipur and his house in Lucknow. The teams also raided two places belonging to Ranjeet Singh Panwar, including his house at his native village Todaraysingh in Tonk district and his residence in Mahesh Nagar in Jaipur.
DIG (CBI) S Suresh told TOI: “The search was only for documents related to passport verification certificate and relations between Dixit and Singh.”
One Prahalad Gujjar, a resident of Lalkothi area in Jaipur, had filed a petition in the high court in July 2009 pleading that Dixit should be prosecuted under section 12(2) of the Passport Act 1967 for issuing an incorrect verification certificate