Author: Sanjay Singh, New Delhi
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: December 18, 2003
It could now be Amit Jogi's turn
to face prosecution. Having hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons,
Amit, the son of former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Ajit Jogi, seems to
have forgotten one simple fact - that his stay in India is illegal.
Amit is facing allegations that
he had masterminded the Judeo episode and that he was deeply involved in
his father's designs to lure BJP leaders into defecting after the Congress
was routed in the Assembly polls in Chhattisgarh.
His problems may not end here. The
National Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribe Commission has sought a Central
Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe following allegations that an ST Certificate
was issued to him from Indore.
Amit Jogi's visa - 478/BOI/DLI/48
- last issued on October 28, 1998 for five years for his stay in India,
expired on October 31 this year. According to the Bureau of Immigration
records at New Delhi, with whom he is registered, Amit Jogi has so far
not applied for an extension of his visa.
Ajit Pramod Jogi's son, Amit Aishvarya
Jogi was born in the US on July 7, 1977 when his mother Renu Jogi was visiting
her sister in that country. He therefore became a US citizen by virtue
of his birth. He was first issued a US Passport (No H 2548159) on October
5, 1977. His passport numbers have changed thrice since then, first to
J-7122574, then to Z-7098492 and finally to Z-7912540. The last one, valid
until July 19, 2008, was issued by the US Embassy in New Delhi on July
20.
Sources said Amit Jogi had applied
to the District Collector, Raipur, on December 12, 2001 for Indian citizenship.
His application was processed and forwarded to the Union Ministry of Home
Affairs. The ministry, however, on January 15, 2002, conveyed to him that
he could be registered as an Indian citizen only after renouncing his US
citizenship and submitting a proof of the renunciation in original to the
Government. The ministry is yet to get a reply from Jogi junior on this
matter, the sources said.
While continuing to live in India
as a US citizen, Amit Jogi is said to have procured an ST certificate on
January 29, 1998, issued by the Tehsildar, Indore, who had certified that
Jogi junior belonged to the Kanwar community. This was challenged by a
resident of that city, who wrote to the Superintendent of Police and National
Commission of SC & ST, alleging that the certificate was fraudulently
procured and urged the police officer to register an FIR against Amit Jogi.
The Indore Police, however, did not take any action.
The National Commission of SC &
ST wrote to the Collector, Indore, for his comments on the complaints.
The commission then recommended to the Ministry of Tribal Welfare that
the matter be investigated by the CBI.
Amit Jogi also appeared for the
Civil Service examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission
in 2000. The rule is: Only an Indian citizen can sit for this examination,
and Amit Jogi, as a US citizen, was not eligible to appear. It is another
matter that he had failed to get past the prelims.
