Lokpal finds no merit in allegations against rebel TMC MP Arup Chakraborty

The Lokpal dismissed a corruption complaint against Bankura MP Arup Chakraborty after the CBI found six allegations unsubstantiated.

Lokpal, the anti-corruption watchdog, has dismissed a corruption complaint against rebel Trinamool Congress member of Parliament Arup Chakraborty after a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe concluded that the charges were “unsubstantiated”.

The Lok Sabha MP from the Bankura seat, along with 19 other rebel TMC MPs, had merged with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) and extended support to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in June this year.

A complaint was received against Chakraborty, following which the Lokpal directed the CBI on November 21, 2025, to look into the allegations. The federal agency filed a preliminary enquiry (PE), a precursor to a formal case, and submitted its report to the Lokpal on August 28.

The CBI examined a total of six allegations against Chakraborty and opined in its report that they “have remained unsubstantiated”.

In its order passed on September 10, a Lokpal bench headed by chairman Justice A M Khanwilkar said: “Nothing more needs to be done in the fact situation of the present case and especially because, it has been noted by the IO (investigating officer) of CBI that the alleged activities were during the period (on or before 2024) when Chakraborty was a Member of Legislative Council and not a Member of Parliament, so as to come within the ambit of Section 14 of the Act of 2013.”

“Accordingly, this complaint is disposed of being devoid of merit,” the Lokpal bench ruled.

- Neeraj Chauhan is a senior journalist with Hindustan Times and an investigative reporter specialising in national security, terrorism, organised crime, narcotics, corruption, financial crime and complex investigations. With over 21 years of experience across Hindustan Times, The Times of India, The Indian Express and The Pioneer, he has built deep expertise in India’s internal security and law-enforcement landscape. Neeraj has extensively covered India’s principal investigative, intelligence and security agencies, including the NIA, CBI, ED, IB, R&AW, MHA and other central security forces. His work has included deeply reported investigations into terrorism, terror financing, cross-border crime, narcotics trafficking, cybercrime, financial fraud and political and corporate corruption. He has reported on some of the most significant terror attacks and security developments in India over the past two decades, including the Delhi serial blasts, the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, the 2019 Pulwama terror attack and the recent Pahalgam attack. His reporting has also chronicled the rise and decline of the Indian Mujahideen, the activities and subsequent crackdown on the Popular Front of India (PFI), Islamist extremist networks, the conflict in Jammu and Kashmir, insurgencies in the Northeast and Maoist violence. Some of Neeraj’s major breaking stories are in Aryan Khan drug case, Sushant Singh Rajput suicide, interception of a 3,000-kg Afghan heroin consignment worth about ₹21,000 crore at Mundra port, Sri Lanka easter bombings, Aarushi-Hemraj murders in Noida, 2G scam, coal block allocation scam, AgustWestland VVIP chopper deal and major bank frauds and extradition cases involving Mehul Choksi, Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya. His reporting is marked by an ability to cultivate sources, analyse confidential and complex documents, and follow investigations over several years—from the initial breakthrough to chargesheets, trials and international legal proceedings. He specialises in making complicated security and investigative developments accessible while examining their wider implications for governance and public policy. A Chevening South Asia Journalism Programme Fellow at the University of Westminster, Neeraj also spent time at the Financial Times as part of the fellowship. He was also a Robert Bosch Media Ambassadors India-Germany Fellow, studying at the University of Tübingen and working with Der Tagesspiegel in Berlin. He has previously taught investigative journalism and crime reporting as a guest faculty member at the Times School of Journalism. Over more than two decades, Neeraj has established himself as an authoritative voice on India’s national security and investigative landscape, with his reporting closely followed by officials, investigators, lawyers, policymakers and readers seeking insight into some of the country’s most complex and consequential developments.Read More