Devyani Khobragade Made False Statement To Get Adarsh Flat: Panel

NAGPUR – In a freshblow to diplomat DevyaniKhobragade, currently in thethick of controversy over herarrest in a alleged visa fraudin the US, was pulled up bythe Adash judicial panel “formaking a false statement” tobecome a member of the society.Khobragade was allottedflat number 2301 spread over1,076 square feet in Adarshsociety. The judicial commissionreport stated her membershipwas approved thoughshe was ineligible for the flatin Adarsh.Her bureaucrat father,Uttam Khobragade, appearedbefore the commission duringthe inquiry while she wasposted in the Indian embassyin Berlin. Having taken powerof attorney from her, the seniorIAS officer informed thepanel that he had filled in themembership form of the societyon her behalf.The report mentioned thebureaucrat failed to mentionthe price of the flat even whenboth of them deposed beforethe panel members and theyremained silent on this aspect.Devyani mentioned herannual income to be aroundRs 1.8 lakh in her application.However, the panel membersaccessed a copy of her ledgeraccount of Adarsh societyfrom April 1, 2008, to March31, 2011, which shows thatshe made a total payment ofRs 1.10 crore. Ironically, bothfather and daughter had failedto reveal anything about thesource of money for purchasinga flat.Uttam Khobragade saidwhen his daughter, an IFS officer,filed the application for aflat, she disclosed that she wasalready a member of anothersociety. “When Adarsh societyinformed us of the allotment,we sold the earlier flat beforemaking payment for theAdarsh flat. If the allotmentis cancelled, we shall take backthe refund.”