South African authorities were engaging their counterparts abroad at the weekend over the reported arrests of Ajay and Anil Gupta in India on charges related to the death of a construction business owner who named them as exerting “pressure” in a suicide note written before he leapt off a building.
There was confusion when justice minister Ronald Lamola, speaking on the sidelines of the ANC's Siyanqoba rally at FNB Stadium on Saturday, said preliminary investigations indicated the arrested pair were not the brothers for whom the government had obtained warrants of arrest related to state capture.
“According to the information at our disposal, verified by our high commissioner in India, the Gupta family members that have been arrested are not the ones in the warrant of arrest as issued by South Africa and as per the red notice issued by Interpol ... It is not Ajay and Atul Gupta that have been arrested,” said Lamola.
However, this contradicted a statement by justice department spokesperson Chrispin Phiri who told the Sunday Times, “The ministry of justice and correctional services has noted reports of the arrest of two Gupta brothers, Ajay and Anil Gupta, in India. Our arrest warrants were for Rajesh and Atul Gupta. Nonetheless, formal processes are under way through the high commissioner in India to verify and for possible engagement.”
Satyendra Singh Sahni allegedly jumped off the terrace of a seven-floor apartment complex on Friday morning, according to the Times of India. A suicide note, addressed to India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and shared by local media, accused the brothers of coercion and interfering in his construction projects.
Kalyan Das, a journalist with a leading English daily in India, said that Ajay Gupta and his brother-in-law, Anil Gupta, appeared before the district and sessions court in Dehradun on Saturday.
“The court ordered a judicial remand of 14 days for both. Before that, as per the legal provisions, the two were taken for medical examination at a city-based government hospital. The police probe is ongoing,” Das said.
He said they would likely be behind bars for 14 days.
The Gupta family wielded significant political influence during the years Jacob Zuma was president of South Africa, infamously landing a commercial jet full of wedding guests at Waterkloof Air Force Base. The brothers were allegedly the architects and beneficiaries of widespread looting of government coffers and state-owned entities during Zuma's tenure.
In a police report Sanhi's son, Ranbir Singh Sahni, alleged that Anil and Ajay pressurised his father into transferring two projects into their name and that he was “continuously receiving threats” from them.
Ranbir said his father was extremely troubled. The suicide note implicating them was found in his pocket.
TimesLIVE
Gupta brothers arrested in India 'not ones SA wants'
Image: Kevin Sutherland
South African authorities were engaging their counterparts abroad at the weekend over the reported arrests of Ajay and Anil Gupta in India on charges related to the death of a construction business owner who named them as exerting “pressure” in a suicide note written before he leapt off a building.
There was confusion when justice minister Ronald Lamola, speaking on the sidelines of the ANC's Siyanqoba rally at FNB Stadium on Saturday, said preliminary investigations indicated the arrested pair were not the brothers for whom the government had obtained warrants of arrest related to state capture.
“According to the information at our disposal, verified by our high commissioner in India, the Gupta family members that have been arrested are not the ones in the warrant of arrest as issued by South Africa and as per the red notice issued by Interpol ... It is not Ajay and Atul Gupta that have been arrested,” said Lamola.
However, this contradicted a statement by justice department spokesperson Chrispin Phiri who told the Sunday Times, “The ministry of justice and correctional services has noted reports of the arrest of two Gupta brothers, Ajay and Anil Gupta, in India. Our arrest warrants were for Rajesh and Atul Gupta. Nonetheless, formal processes are under way through the high commissioner in India to verify and for possible engagement.”
Satyendra Singh Sahni allegedly jumped off the terrace of a seven-floor apartment complex on Friday morning, according to the Times of India. A suicide note, addressed to India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and shared by local media, accused the brothers of coercion and interfering in his construction projects.
Kalyan Das, a journalist with a leading English daily in India, said that Ajay Gupta and his brother-in-law, Anil Gupta, appeared before the district and sessions court in Dehradun on Saturday.
“The court ordered a judicial remand of 14 days for both. Before that, as per the legal provisions, the two were taken for medical examination at a city-based government hospital. The police probe is ongoing,” Das said.
He said they would likely be behind bars for 14 days.
The Gupta family wielded significant political influence during the years Jacob Zuma was president of South Africa, infamously landing a commercial jet full of wedding guests at Waterkloof Air Force Base. The brothers were allegedly the architects and beneficiaries of widespread looting of government coffers and state-owned entities during Zuma's tenure.
In a police report Sanhi's son, Ranbir Singh Sahni, alleged that Anil and Ajay pressurised his father into transferring two projects into their name and that he was “continuously receiving threats” from them.
Ranbir said his father was extremely troubled. The suicide note implicating them was found in his pocket.
TimesLIVE
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