With two of the alleged aides of mining minister Gyatri Prajapati, did not turned up to dispose of their statements before the lokayukta, Justice (retd) NK Mehrotra, and two others tried to sought more time through their lawyers, but one of the minister’s cohort appeared before the probing agency and denied of having any truck with the minister in his alleged illegal operations.
“I am Samajwadi Party leader and belongs to the same community which Gyatri Prajapati belong and I even knew the minister but I was in no way involved in any kind of business or other activities with the Mining Minister’, disclosed Jitendra Prajapati, while recording his statement before Mehrorta here on Friday afternoon. Sources confirmed that he also denied his role in illegal mining operations. “I had no role in mining operations in Jhansi or any other area with the minister or any of his aides”, asserted Jitendra.
However, he confirmed that the mobile number provided by other witnesses and alleged to be used in illegal mining trade belongs to him. Sources said that besides Jitendra, two other key witnesses of Gyatri Prajapati’s alleged illegal operations, Vikas Verma and Pintu Yadav, did not appeared before Mehrotra to record their statements.
Similarly, two more key aides, Amrendra Singh aka Pintu and Gudda, also not appeared on Friday, though their lawyers turned up and sought 15-more days time to give statement in the matter. Sources said that Mehrorta, though issued fresh notices against the duo, asking them to give their reply by February 18, but had put condition that since they were just witnesses and not an accused in the case, so if the probe in the matter would continue till that date than he will consider their replies otherwise he would took no cognizance of it.