Nagarwala case: Difference between revisions

On 21 May 1971, Nagarwala called Malhotra at the State Bank of India, and did a vocal impression of Prime Minister [[Indira Gandhi]]. Nagarwala claimed that the Prime Minister immediately needed ₹60 [[lakh]]s. Some sources report that the money was needed for a "secret mission to Bangladesh",<ref name=Aggarwal>{{cite book|last=Aggarwal|first=S.K.|title=Investigative Journalism In India|year=1990|publisher=Mittal Publications|location=New Delhi|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m0ZUwtiTCKYC&pg=PA11&lpg=PA11&dq=Rustom+Sohrab+Nagarwala&source=bl&ots=nqgRMDSpe_&sig=yX2UgTgrbnW32xQWHnYDYAspseg&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VWf_UL-DBI7rkgXoqICwCQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Rustom%20Sohrab%20Nagarwala&f=false|edition=1.}}</ref> while others report more simply that the money was requested for a "man from Bangladesh".<ref name=Venkatesh>{{cite news|last=Venkatesh|first=M.R.|title=Indira hoax rerun for BJP|url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1030627/asp/nation/story_2107442.asp|accessdate=23 January 2013|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=27 June 2003}}</ref> In his later confession, Nagarwala stated that he described it as a "matter of great national importance".<ref name=Narasimhan>{{cite book|last=Narasimhan|first=R.|title=Frauds in banks|year=2005|publisher=ICFAI University Press|location=Hyderabad, India|isbn=9788178817484|edition=1st}}</ref> Nagarwala further told Malhotra that he should contact the Prime Minister's office at a later date to get a receipt. Malhotra agreed to get the money and later delivered it to Nagarwala (who claimed to be a courier working for the Prime Minister) in a taxi later that day.<ref name = Narasimhan/>

In 1977, after a change in government, [[Pingle Jaganmohan Reddy]] was appointed to inquire into the event, among other cases.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Reddy|first=Pingle Jaganmohan|author-link=Pingle Jaganmohan Reddy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WnvoVvSIksgC&pg=PA281&lpg=PA281&dq=Pingle+Jaganmohan+Reddy+nagarwala&source=bl&ots=U9H35ZIA60&sig=ACfU3U0V82usmpHJn1GCpY8xOxtJysMq9g&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiz8LO15-ruAhWoAZ0JHUSwDVQQ6AEwEnoECAkQAg#v=onepage&q=Pingle%2520Jaganmohan%2520Reddy%2520nagarwala&f=false |p=281|title=The Judiciary I Served|date=1999|publisher=[[Orient Blackswan]]|isbn=978-81-250-1617-5}}</ref> Before the commission met, the magazine ''[[India Today]]'' expressed some doubts about the official version of events, with questions on the bank's conduct, Nagarwala's past and his ability to imitate Gandhi's voice, and instead proposed in "one possible reconstruction" that he was an undercover courier funneling money to support guerillas in Bangladesh on behalf of the state and the government was washing their hands clean of him after a deputy cashier had reported his activity to the police.<ref>{{cite magazine|date=30 April 1977|title=The Nagarwala case: Is the truth buried?|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/19770430-the-nagarwala-case-is-the-truth-buried-823665-2014-08-06|work=[[India Today]]}}</ref> In 1978 the Commission issued an 820-page report on the matter. According to the report, the bank had kept private, unaccounted assets and Gandhi's office had obstructed the police investigations, but there was no evidence that she had been kept money at the bank in this manner.<ref>{{cite news|accessdate=2021-03-17|title=November 5, 1978, Forty Years Ago: Nagarwala Case|work=[[The Indian Express]]|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/editorials/november-5-1978-forty-years-ago-nagarwala-case-5433856/|date=5 November 2018}}</ref> Most notably, the report found that the confession should have been rejected and that it was unsubstantiated by any evidence. They also found that Nagarwala's death was caused by a [[myocardial infarction]] and thus there was no reason to suspect foul play.<ref name = Narasimhan/> S.K. Aggarwal said that a 1986 article in [[The Statesman (India)|The Statesman]] described a series of letters by Nagarwala that imply a relationship between himself and Indira Gandhi, though Gandhi herself could not specifically recall meeting Nagarwala. In letters written while he was jailed, Nagarwala claimed that he wanted to reveal the truth behind the crime and that it would be a "great eye opener for the nation".<ref name = Aggarwal/>

{{Cite book |last=Reddy |first=P. Jagammohan |author-link=Pingle Jaganmohan Reddy |chapter=P. Jaganmohan Reddy Commission of Inquiry (Regarding Nagarwala Case), 1977 — Report |volume=15B |pp=429-448 |editor-last=Kumar |editor-first=Virendra |title=Committees and Commissions in India 1977 |url=https://indianculture.gov.in/committees-and-commissions-india-1974 |year=1977 |publication-date=1993 |publisher=Concept Publishing Company |isbn=978-81-7022-485-3 |series=Concepts in Communication Informatics and Librarianship |others=Agarwal, S. P. (series ed.)}}