New Delhi: He rubs shoulders with the high and mighty, drives luxury cars, travels in chartered planes, and allegedly owns at least a dozen properties, including in Delhi’s upscale Greater Kailash.
His security detail includes a posse of former Special Protection Group personnel. He is a central government-accredited journalist, and also a director in an aviation firm. Also, he is now under arrest.
There were two kinds of reactions when Upendra Rai was arrested this week for alleged cheating and criminal conspiracy: Howls of protest from supporters against his “victimisation”, and furtive sniggers from those who suggested it was only a matter of time for the “powerbroker”.
Over the past few days, Rai was the subject of a series of alleged investigative reports by a portal named pgurus.com, where he was accused of money laundering and criminal links to some senior Congress leaders.
His arrest pertains to alleged dubious transactions to the tune of Rs 100 crore, and allegations that he used false information to gain access to airports across India. In its reportage, pgurus.com had pointed out that while Rai possessed Press Information Bureau (PIB) accreditation as a full-time journalist, he secured the airport entry pass by passing himself off as a director for quality control in a Delhi-based company named Air One Aviation.
The allegations against him include not being technically qualified to hold the Air One Aviation post, and not having declared this role in his application for PIB accreditation, which grants journalists access to government offices.
According to CBI officers, in 2017, Rai’s bank accounts showed credits of Rs 79 crore and debits of Rs 78.51 crore.
Currently, Rai is the chairman and editor-in-chief of a media group he founded, ‘ThePrintlines’, which runs a news website and plans to launch a TV channel, a newspaper and a magazine.
In a post on the website, Rai has hit out at the allegations against him: “As far as holding a PIB card is concerned, that is my right as a journalist for 21 years,” he said. “I have got the airport entry pass being a director quality control in Air One Aviation, a chartered plane company. I have never tried to hide this fact and there is no law in the country which bars me from holding a PIB card and airport entry pass.”
He has also filed a Rs 100 crore defamation suit against pgurus.com.
06/05/18 The Print
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His security detail includes a posse of former Special Protection Group personnel. He is a central government-accredited journalist, and also a director in an aviation firm. Also, he is now under arrest.
There were two kinds of reactions when Upendra Rai was arrested this week for alleged cheating and criminal conspiracy: Howls of protest from supporters against his “victimisation”, and furtive sniggers from those who suggested it was only a matter of time for the “powerbroker”.
Over the past few days, Rai was the subject of a series of alleged investigative reports by a portal named pgurus.com, where he was accused of money laundering and criminal links to some senior Congress leaders.
His arrest pertains to alleged dubious transactions to the tune of Rs 100 crore, and allegations that he used false information to gain access to airports across India. In its reportage, pgurus.com had pointed out that while Rai possessed Press Information Bureau (PIB) accreditation as a full-time journalist, he secured the airport entry pass by passing himself off as a director for quality control in a Delhi-based company named Air One Aviation.
The allegations against him include not being technically qualified to hold the Air One Aviation post, and not having declared this role in his application for PIB accreditation, which grants journalists access to government offices.
According to CBI officers, in 2017, Rai’s bank accounts showed credits of Rs 79 crore and debits of Rs 78.51 crore.
Currently, Rai is the chairman and editor-in-chief of a media group he founded, ‘ThePrintlines’, which runs a news website and plans to launch a TV channel, a newspaper and a magazine.
In a post on the website, Rai has hit out at the allegations against him: “As far as holding a PIB card is concerned, that is my right as a journalist for 21 years,” he said. “I have got the airport entry pass being a director quality control in Air One Aviation, a chartered plane company. I have never tried to hide this fact and there is no law in the country which bars me from holding a PIB card and airport entry pass.”
He has also filed a Rs 100 crore defamation suit against pgurus.com.
06/05/18 The Print
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