The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has asked the District Magistrate and the Superintendent of Police of Satara, Maharashtra, not to release Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan without its consent or a court order.
Non-bailable arrest warrants are pending against the Wadhawans in the Yes Bank case registered by the CBI in March.
“On April 9, we received information that the accused were located in Satara and were lodged at a government quarantine centre at Panchgani. Thereafter, an email was immediately sent to the District Magistrate and the Superintendent of Police for not releasing them without a no-objection [certificate] from the CBI or a court order,” a CBI official said.
The local administration has also been told to ensure that the accused do not flee. According to the CBI, the Wadhawans have been absconding since the investigation started.
On March 7, the CBI registered the case against the Wadhawans, former Yes Bank managing director and chief executive officer Rana Kapoor and others in connection with the lending of ₹3,700 crore to DHFL allegedly in lieu of ₹600 crore in investments in an entity linked to Rana Kapoor’s family.
Kapil Wadhawan was named as promoter-director of DHFL and Dheeraj Wadhawan as director of RKW Developers Private Limited.
Two days later, the CBI conducted searches. “Both the accused were not found on their premises. Therefore, in order to secure their presence for the investigation, notices under Section 41-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure were served on them. But they did not turn up,” the official said.
A Mumbai special court issued non-bailable arrest warrants against the Wadhawans on March 17. But they did not appear before either the CBI or the court, said the CBI. The Enforcement Directorate had also summoned them to join the money-laundering probe launched on the basis of the CBI case, but they did not appear before the agency, citing the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Wednesday night, the Wadhawans travelled to Mahabaleshwar with over 20 relatives and associates in five cars in violation of the lockdown protocol. They were said to have had passes issued by a Special Principal Secretary in Maharashtra’s Home Department. The official has been sent on compulsory leave, pending inquiry. The Wadhawans and their family members and associates have been quarantined.
The Satara police have also registered a case against them for allegedly violating the lockdown measures.
