Controversial business men Ajay Gupta and Anil Gupta have been arrested on Friday in India for their involvement in the death of a prominent builder in Dehradun. File Image: IOL
Controversial businessmen Ajay Gupta and Anil Gupta were arrested on Friday in India for their alleged involvement in the death of a prominent builder in Dehradun.
The two brothers were taken into custody by police for allegedly abetting the suicide of Satyendra Singh Sahni, according to multiple Indian news reports.
In his suicide note addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sahni stated that the Gupta brothers had been threatening him for some time, leading him to take his own life.
The builder mentioned that the brothers had been pressuring him over financial matters related to a partnership project.
In 2023, Ranvir Sahni, the son of Satyendra, lodged a complaint against the Gupta brothers.
"My father was constantly being threatened by Ajay Gupta, son of Shiv Gupta, and Anil Gupta, son of Shyam Lal Gupta, residents of Nehru Colony, Dalanwala, over financial matters. A written complaint was submitted to the local police on May 19, 2023 about the Gupta brothers’ threats, harassment, intimidation, and blackmail," Ranvir said.
"Ajay Gupta and Anil Gupta filed a false complaint with the SSP in Saharanpur (Uttar Pradesh) without any basis. As a result, my father was repeatedly summoned by Saharanpur police," he added.
There was prima facie evidence to arrest the two businessmen. "Prima facie, the Gupta brothers have been detained on the basis of their involvement in the case. Both will be produced in court on Saturday," Senior Superintendent of Police Ajay Singh said.
In April, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said that it was facing challenges in its bid to extradite Atul and Rajesh Gupta back to South Africa from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
National Director of Public Prosecutions of the NPA, Advocate Shamila Batohi said that the brothers faced multiple charges relating to fraud and money laundering.
The extradition request to the UAE was rejected in April 2023 and Batohi said follow ups on finding reasons why have not been responded to by their Middle Eastern counterparts.
“We have been trying very hard to find out some very basic things like what exactly [is] the problem with our extradition request. We’ve not had satisfactory responses from the UAE,” Batohi said.
The NPA had also taken steps to request political intervention from the Presidency.
Batohi said that the NPA had briefed Deputy President Paul Mashatile on the matter.
IOL NEWS
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