Mystery of eight missing carpets: After Lalit-gate, Raje may be in for more trouble

Eight priceless handwoven carpets are sent to chief minister Vasundhara Raje’s office from a store of the Rajasthan government between 2005 and 2006. They are dispatched by state government staff in the presence of senior officials and allegedly received by an Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the CM office. And then they disappear without a trace. Whodunit? For five years, the Rajasthan police tried cracking this daylight heist of expensive rugs from the government store. The probe appeared headed towards a conclusion and the carpet thieves within the police grasp while the Ashok Gehlot government was in power. [caption id=“attachment_2360596” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] More trouble for Raje? PTI image[/caption] And then the government changed, with Vasundhara Raje sweeping back into power. Over the next few months, crucial evidence was ignored, the investigation was turned on its head and the accused were let off. The carpets were never traced and their theft remained a mystery. But, if the Rajasthan high court has its way, the CBI may have to step in to solve the mystery of the missing carpets, in the process creating fresh trouble for Raje and her trusted aide and OSD Dhirendra Kamthan. On Wednesday, the HC issued a notice to the Raje government asking it why a CBI probe should not be ordered into the case involving the CMO since the local cops had not made much progress in six years. The mystery dates back to 26 September, 2005, when, according to a FIR filed in Jaipur, Raje’s OSD Kamthan visited the office of the Hotel Corporation of Rajasthan with a requisition for six carpets allegedly for use in the CM office. On 17 April, 2006, Kamthan went again and took away two more carpets. Though the real value of the carpets is not known, the Congress claims they were rare antiques of Persian origin with an estimated value of nearly Rs 250 crore. But experts say their market value was never ascertained and the Congress estimates may be grossly exaggerated. In November 2009, on realising that the carpets have disappeared, the public works department filed an FIR in the case, naming Kamthan as the main accused. A PWD executive engineer Rakesh Bhargava was also booked by the cops as the co-accused since he had received the carpets from the Hotel Corporation staff. During investigations, Bhargava told police that he was only acting under instructions from above to collect the carpets as the officer in-charge of the department responsible for maintenance of the CM office and residence. He told police that the carpets were handed over to Kamthan, who then took them away. According to Bhargava’s statement to the police, Kamthan promised to give him a receipt for the carpets. But when Kamthan didn’t send the receipt, Bhargav taped a conversation with Raje’s OSD and submitted it to the police as proof of his innocence. In this taped conversation, allegedly between Bhargav and Kamthan, (you can hear it here), the two are heard discussing the carpets and the pending receipt. This is how the conversation goes: Bhargav: Sir, ab to 8 carpet ki raseed de do, ab to Madam ne bhi keh diya hai, sir. (Please give the receipt of the 8 carpets. Now even Madam has also told this). Voice alleged to be Kamthan’s:  Haan karwata hoon, aaj hi karwata hoon. (Ok, I will get it done today itself). The man on the other line then asks Bhargav why he took his (Kamthan’s) name in front of Madam. Even Phool Singh could have signed the reciept. “You could have told Madam that ask Phool Singh to do it (give the receipt). He was there, he could have done it a minute.” To this Bhargav replies: “Sir, then you tell this to Madam. I had met her this morning and she said I have told Kamthan and why isn’t he doing it.” Those who follow Rajasthan’s politics closely are aware of the identity of some of the names that figure in the conversation. And, if proved authentic, the tape could establish who took away the carpets, and under whose instructions. When Bhargav submitted the tape to the police, he gave his voice sample for forensic analysis. But Kamthan refused to give a sample of his voice, saying he can’t be forced to do so . As a result, the veracity of the tape and the conversation has still not been ascertained. But it has given rise to suspicion that Kamthan has something to hide and is not willing to cooperate with the probe to ensure the truth is not revealed. Incidentally, internal memos of the Rajasthan Hotel Corporation mention Kamthan as the person who personally selected the carpets that later disappeared. But the cops have gone slow on the investigation, triggering the ire of the high court. Kamthan is widely known as an important member of Raje’s core group. He has been her Man Friday for several years. Such is Kamthan’s importance in Raje’s coterie that though he was named as the man trying to “sell election tickets” by Raje’s family friend Lalit Modi in a series of tweets before the 2013 Assembly polls, he managed to not only survive, but emerge stronger than ever. For many in the state, he is nothing less than Raje’s shadow. A CBI probe, if ordered by the HC, could embarrass not just Kamthan but also Raje. It could also reveal all that has been pushed under – what else? – the carpet by the Jaipur police.