Supreme Court-appointed panel corners ex-CBI chief Ranjit Sinha over his 'unique' visitors

From bringing "good quality chicken, mutton and fish", to training dogs, to fortune telling, to printing wedding cards: the pretexts used by visitors to the residence of the then CBI chief Ranjit Sinha are as interesting as the purposes for which they came, says a Supreme Court-appointed panel's report.

Mail Today has accessed details of the ML Sharma committee's findings that were submitted to the SC in a sealed cover this year. None of those questioned by the panel denied visiting Sinha but almost everybody cited purposes other than official.

Most of the frequent visitors or their companies are being investigated by the CBI in scams.

The committee probed 36 most-frequent visitors to Sinha's house.

For instance, a person who came 148 times recounted that "Smt Sinha would requisition his services for buying good quality mutton, chicken and fish from the market and also to discuss politics with her as she was interested in contesting Assembly elections from Delhi or Bihar," says the report. This visitor works in the office of the chairman of one of India's biggest oil and telecom majors. The son of a former DGP of Tamil Nadu came 144 times to Sinha's house to "train the ex-CBI chief's dogs" and on occasions was purportedly helping Sinha get access to an astrologer.

It's a different matter that this person was being probed for defaulting on loans of about Rs 45 crore from two banks. A Gurugram-based printer came 44 times to Sinha's residence, supposedly for designing of wedding cards. But the person who had free access to the ex-CBI chief's house was a former general manager of the Central Mine Planning & Design Institute, Ranchi. He visited Sinha 298 times in 15 months after he "retired from a high position in coal sector and was under probe by the CBI". M L Sharma refused to comment on the report. But it's the high-profile visitors who have raised eyebrows. A top honcho of a telecom and power company who was questioned in the 2G scam and whose company was embroiled in the coal scam visited 28 times to have a "cup of tea" and discuss "Shri Sinha's son's education".

Another top executive of the same company- now overseeing its newfound defence manufacturing interests- came 26 times as he was apparently apprising the CBI of its image in the market and the "perception of the government regarding the CBI". The panel panned the visit of "liaison" men to the ex-CBI chief's residence, saying "their visits with Shri Sinha couldn't have been without a purpose but it's not possible for the committee to give a definitive ruling as the PE files have not been made available by the CBI". A top meat exporter who is being probed along with a predecessor of Ranjit Sinha by agencies was a frequent visitor. The committee wonders whether the visits were "only for old times' sake or they had a deeper purport".