The video of a sting operation where Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat’s personal secretary Mohammad Shahid can be seen negotiating a bribery deal for alcohol licences has been released.
Shahid was suspended soon after the video was released.
The Congress rubbished the BJP’s claim that this is just the beginning of a huge excise scam in the state.
Minister of State for Ministry of Commerce & Industry Nirmala Sitharaman pointed fingers at Shahid, accusing him of being involved in a multi-crore excise scam. In the 15:14 long sting video, he can be seen sitting on a bed with four to five men discussing how Uttarakhand is a smaller state compared to Uttar Pradesh, and striking a deal like this can be risky.
A local scribe from Dehradun conducted the sting, noting that he had been trying to film this for the last two months.
Rawat responded saying the IAS officer does not have the authority to make such negotiations and also needs to check if the sting is authentic.
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