CBI staged drama against me: Ripun Bora

A day after Delhi high court quashed the graft case filed against him, former Assam minister Ripun Bora on Wednesday alleged CBI of staging a ‘drama’ against him.

“There is no visual record of offering bribe. They (CBI) were preparing a trap for me,” Bora told TSI. “They had already kept a bag full of money. When I entered the room they surrounded me and told me that I was arrested because of offering bribe to the CBI officials.”

The former education minister was arrested for his alleged involvement in offering bribe to the CBI officials to get relief from the murder case of Denial Topno, a leader of tea tribe of Gohpur area, the constituency from which the Bora belongs.

Deputy Superintendent of Police, A.B. Gupta had called Ripun Bora to Delhi on May 16, 2008. Ripun Bora claims that he was informed by a reporter of a local daily Mukul Pathak that one CBI official wanted to meet him in Delhi regarding the murder case of Denial Topno.

Accordingly, Bora went to Delhi with the reporter and met the DSP Gupta. He was arrested red handed when he offered bribe to the CBI officer.

After getting the clean sheet from Delhi High court, Bora reacts, “I was a victim of political conspiracy of my colleague. I do not want to disclose anything more in this regard.’’

The single bench of Delhi High court, Justice G.S. Sistani, in his verdict mentions, “no cogent explanation has been rendered why an officer posted in Kolkota would travel all the way to Delhi when in the complaint itself it has been alleged that Bora expresses his inability to visit Delhi. Moreover, the bribe was offered by Bora in May 16 whereas the complaint was filed in June 2. No reason has been given by the complainant of this silence of 18 days.”