Amrapali Group's ex-MD Anil Sharma, 5 others booked in 2014 murder case

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) booked the former chairman and managing director of Amrapali Group Anil Sharma on Wednesday (January 11) in connection with the nine-year-old murder case of Sharad Chand, a former secretary of Bihar-based educational institution Balika Vidyapeeth, officials said.

The CBI action came on the Patna High Court’s orders issued last month.

In accordance with its procedures, the CBI has taken over the probe into the FIR registered by the Lakhisarai police station in Bihar.

Also read: CBI books Amrapali Smart City Developers, its directors for bank fraud of over ₹472 crore

Sharma, who is facing a number of bank-fraud cases, has been booked on murder charges, along with Lakhisarai-based Praveen Sinha, Shyam Sundar Prasad, Rajendra Singhania, Shambhu Sharan Singh and then principal of Balika Vidyapeeth Anita Singh.

It has been alleged that Chand, the then secretary of Balika Vidyapeeth in Lakhisarai who resided at the educational institution, was shot dead while he was reading a newspaper sitting in the verandah of his residence at about 6:30 am on August 2, 2014, by the accused named in the FIR, in pursuance of a criminal conspiracy hatched for usurping land and assets of the institution.

“It has also been alleged that in August 2009, one Anil Sharma, MD of Amrapali Group, had usurped the trust of Balika Vidyapeeth with the help of Rajendra Prasad Singhania, Dr Praveen Kumar Sinha, Shyam Sunder Prasad and Shambhu Sharan Singh, and the deceased was removed forcibly and since then, a dispute was going on between both the parties,” the FIR says.

Also read: Dhoni, over 1,800 Amrapali homebuyers told to clear dues in 15 days

The income of Balika Vidyapeeth was also being usurped by opening a personal account that was operated by Sinha and Singh, and Chand had made complaints regarding irregularities in the functioning of the institution, the FIR alleges.

“The deceased was also regularly threatened and attacked, his house was damaged and firings were made in the past,” it says.

Chand’s wife had approached the high court, alleging that the investigation was not being handled properly by the state police.

The CID of the Bihar Police had told the court that not much progress was made in the case.

“In the foundation of the facts available in the writ application, complaining about the conduct of the CID in not investigating the case for all these years, this court has found that in the counter-affidavit of the CID, there is no whisper and/or an attempt to explain the reasons for the huge and inordinate delay in conduct of investigation in a murder case,” Justice Rajeev Ranjan Prasad had said.

In a terse remark made while handing over the probe to the federal agency, the judge had said the investigation of the case was “virtually dumped” and the case diary kept “gathering dust” in the CID office as the investigating officer did not touch it for years.

“The stand of the CID at this stage is that there are ample materials against the private respondents to proceed against them. This court would have no hesitation in coming to a conclusion that the CID has failed to perform its statutory duty to conduct a free, fair and impartial investigation in this case,” the judge had said.

(With agency inputs)