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The Congress party has alleged that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is deliberately going soft in its probe into Montu Patel, the President of the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) and a senior BJP functionary from Gujarat, despite what it claims is overwhelming evidence of corruption involving thousands of crores of rupees.
Addressing the media in Delhi on Friday, Congress MP Shaktisinh Gohil accused the agency of shielding Patel and obstructing justice, even after a Delhi court flagged major lapses in the investigation.
Citing a court order dated July 15, Gohil said that Patel was granted interim protection from arrest because the CBI failed to present vital facts. &ldquo;The CBI didn&rsquo;t do its job. Justice holds the scales, but the facts must be placed on those scales. Here, the CBI didn&rsquo;t even bring them,&rdquo; Gohil stated.
Speaking to Benefit News, he added, &ldquo;There is direct evidence, a diary, voice recordings, and financial trails, but the CBI chose a phone call over an arrest. That says everything.&rdquo;
According to Gohil, despite serious complaints filed over two years ago against Patel and his associates, the CBI delayed filing a First Information Report (FIR), and when it finally did, it handled Patel with inexplicable leniency. He pointed out that even the court observed that Patel had not been summoned.
The agency admitted it had only spoken to him over the phone, despite knowing his location, effectively bypassing due process.
The Congress leader presented photos, documents, and reports that allegedly show Patel owns luxury vehicles and properties worth crores of rupees. He accused Patel of granting approvals to pharmacy colleges without any site verification and claimed bribes ranging from Rs 10 to 25 lakh were taken for each approval.
&ldquo;Some of these colleges exist only on paper, without staff or infrastructure. Yet they were approved, risking public safety by pushing out unqualified pharmacists,&rdquo; Gohil said.
He further revealed that 870 pharmacy colleges received approval within just 13 days under Patel&rsquo;s leadership. &ldquo;There are allegations of a Rs 5,000 crore scam involving the approval of pharmacy colleges without any physical verification,&rdquo; he stated.
During the press conference, Gohil played audio clips that he claimed captured bribe negotiations related to college recognitions. Supporting documents allegedly detailed real estate acquisitions and financial transactions linked to Patel.
According to Gohil, a diary seized during the probe records cash movements to and from Patel in connection with college clearances.
He further alleged that Patel, who lost a local election in Gujarat after securing only 435 votes from over 55,000, was later installed into the central PCI council through Daman, despite having no official affiliation with the Union Territory. Once scrutiny began, Gohil claimed, Patel appointed close aides to key PCI positions to retain control.
He also questioned the inaction of financial enforcement agencies. &ldquo;Why haven&rsquo;t the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Income Tax Department conducted any raids, even after such glaring evidence?&rdquo; Gohil asked.
He suggested that Patel&rsquo;s BJP connections were acting as a protective shield. &ldquo;Despite Prime Minister Modi&rsquo;s repeated claims of zero tolerance for corruption, Patel remains in the BJP. Why?&rdquo; Gohil said, urging the Prime Minister to break his silence.
Gohil also stated that the CBI is in possession of an investigative diary detailing bribes and transactions, yet failed to submit it in court. He called the probe inadequate and politically compromised. &ldquo;The ED and IT departments, which act swiftly in other cases, are completely silent here. Why is that?&rdquo; he asked.
He pointed to political double standards, citing the slow progress of cases involving opposition leaders. Referring to the ED case against Robert Vadra, Gohil remarked, &ldquo;They couldn&rsquo;t file a chargesheet in 11 years. The law prescribes a timeline for this. What does that say about the seriousness of these investigations?&rdquo;
Gohil demanded that Patel be removed from the BJP without delay and called for immediate institutional reforms. His four-point demand included the expulsion of Montu Patel from the BJP, instructions to the CBI to present full evidence in court and escalate the case to the Supreme Court, investigations into Patel and his associates by the ED and Income Tax departments, and dissolution of the current PCI, with temporary oversight handed to a retired High Court or Supreme Court judge until Parliament passes new legislation to restructure the body transparently.
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Shaktisinh Gohil claims CBI withheld evidence to protect Patel in Rs 5,000 cr scam

CBI Soft on BJP’s Montu Patel, Alleges Congress

Shaktisinh Gohil claims CBI withheld evidence to protect Patel in Rs 5,000 cr scam

July 19, 2025 | 23:27 IST