LUCKNOW, 2 September 2003 — Federal investigators yesterday questioned a former top elected official to find out how the construction of a 1.75 billion rupee ($40 million) tourism complex near the Taj Mahal was approved in violation of laws protecting the 17th century monument.
The Central Bureau of Investigation, India’s FBI, already has questioned seven bureaucrats who had worked under Mayawati, the former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh state where the white-marble monument is located.
Details of yesterday’s questioning in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh, were not immediately available. Mayawati said last month she was unaware of the project and blamed federal Culture and Tourism Minister Jagmohan and bureaucrats in her government for approving the plan.
