After registering a Preliminary Enquiry (PE) to look into the veracity of the sting operation in which former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat was purportedly seen negotiating with middlemen to strike a deal with the dissident Congress MlAs to seek favourable voting in the Assembly, the CBI on Friday examined the journalist, who conducted the sting. 

Sources said the agency examined journalist Umesh Kumar who conducted the sting operation for about two and a half hours at the CBI headquarters here and asked him to furnish the evidentiary materials available with him.

“CBI has asked me to provide raw footage of the sting which I will give tomorrow,” Kumar said after emerging from the CBI office where he was examined by the sleuths.

Agency sources said once it receives the CD containing the footage of the sting, it will send it for forensic examination to ascertain that the video is not doctored or edited. After the veracity of the recording is established, the agency may ask Rawat to clarify on the issue. The PE may be converted into a Regular Case (RC) if materials collected are sufficient to establish prima facie culpability on the part of those appearing in the video, the sources said. 

The Preliminary Enquiry was registered on a request from the State Government which is under President’s Rule and further notification from the Centre, under whose administrative control the CBI functions.

Two days before Rawat was to face the vote of confidence on March 28, rebel Congress MlAs led by former chief minister Vijay Bahuguna alleged that they were offered bribe by Rawat for support during the floor test in the Assembly and released video of a “sting” operation purportedly showing Rawat.

Rawat, however, had termed the sting video as fake. “The sting CD being shown on news channels is fake. The reputation of the man behind it who is associated with a private news channel is not hidden from anyone. His antecedents must be probed,” Rawat had said last month after sting controversy surfaced.

Backing Rawat, the Congress Party had alleged that the “dirty tricks department” of BJP President Amit Shah was at work. But the BJP had demanded “immediate dismissal” of the Rawat Government. later on, Article 356 of the Constitution was clamped in the State following an adverse report from the State Governor. Presently, the issue of propriety relating to the suspension of the

State Government is under | the consideration of the Supreme Court.