New Delhi, August 6: The CBI probe into alleged forged letter of the Prime Minister to External Affairs Minister reportedly recommending purchase of books by a particular writer for Indian Missions abroad has hit a stumbling block with the original document yet to be recovered by the agency.
The CBI has received the fax copy of the letter which bears forged signatures of the Prime Minister but the original copy of the document is yet to be recovered by it, agency sources said.
The letter allegedly received by the External Affairs Ministry in 2009 was addressed to the Minister S M Krishna and was forwarded by the PMO to the CBI asking the agency to start a probe as it was not issued from their end.
The letter asked the MEA to purchase over three thousand books titled ‘Cultural History and Tourism' by Dr Ramesh Nirmal for Indian Missions abroad.
It was later discovered that the letter was forged. Following the detection of forgery, the PMO asked CBI director A P Singh to look into the matter, they said.
Sources said that a case of forgery and cheating has been registered and entire emphasis is on recovering the original letter as neither the MEA nor the agency has it. They said finding the original letter sent to MEA was important for forensic examination which may reveal crucial details about the writer. PTI
