By Arun Pratap Singh
Nainital, 11 Jul: Ajay and Anil Gupta who are brothers-in-law and accused of inciting the suicide of leading builder of Dehradun Satinder alias Baba Sawhney were granted conditional bail by the Uttarakhand High Court today. It may be recalled that they were on 29 May sent to judicial custody by the lower court in Dehradun. The lower court had rejected their bail applications. However, the Nainital High Court today gave a major relief by granting conditional bail to them in the suicide case. The Guptas had approached the High Court after being refused bail by the lower courts and they will be coming out of the prison after about a month and half. They are presently lodged in Suddhowala Prison here.
Briefing the media after the court granted bail to the Guptas, defence lawyer Abhimanshu Tyagi said that the High Court has granted conditional bail to his clients. The accused will be required to submit their passports to the investigation officer, and that they will not leave the country. Along with this, the court has also directed that the accused will not tamper with evidence or get in touch with witnesses related to the case after coming out on bail.
It may be recalled that Ajay Gupta and his brother-in-law, Anil Gupta, the main accused in the Sawhney suicide case were arrested on 24 May under section 306 of the IPC. The arrests came after a prominent Dehradun-based builder, Satinder Singh Sawhney (52), had named them in his suicide note. Satinder had jumped off the roof of a seven-storey apartment complex in Dehradun. In his suicide note addressed also to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, he had accused the Guptas of constantly harassing him after making investment in his construction project and that they were also issuing threats to him and extorting money. In this connection, he had also filed a complaint with Doon Police, but it had not taken any action on the complaint, which was filed on 16 May. Ultimately, Sawhney committed suicide. These allegations were reiterated in the suicide note recovered by the authorities and the formal complaint lodged by Sawhney’s son Ranbir.
Originally from Saharanpur, where also there are multiple cases registered against them, the Gupta brothers had been making headlines in Uttarakhand, too. They had hosted a wedding event at the skiing resort of Auli and had left the place dirty for which they were criticised. In Dehradun, they are learnt to be investing and having interest in several construction projects owned by other builders. However, they are most infamous over their alleged frauds committed in South Africa and where they are also wanted.
Ajay, Atul and Rajesh Gupta had migrated to South Africa in 1993. Anil, who was arrested along with Ajay Gupta, is reported to be their brother-in-law. Atul Gupta first set up a shoe business in South Africa and later started Sahara Computers. He then went on to expand into industries like mining, air travel, energy, and media. They have been accused of having very close connections with the then South African President, Jacob Zuma, and of exploiting their connections with him for expanding their businesses, causing huge losses to the state exchequer in the process. The relationship was so close that Zuma’s son, Duduzane, was a director in the Guptas’ Sahara Computers. Zuma’s third wife and one of his daughters were also employees of the Guptas for some time. In their heydays in South Africa, they along with Zuma were often referred to as “Zuptas”. However, when Zuma was dislodged from power and the Guptas’ deals came under the scanner, they quietly shifted to Dubai (UAE). The South African government did try for their extradition but did not succeed.
After the arrest of Ajay and Atul Gupta, South African authorities and the media again showed interest in the case following the case and may be disappointed after bail has been granted to them. It is learnt that Rajesh and Atul Gupta continue to reside in Dubai.
