13 April 2021
Nitin Gadkari had denied any connection to “any individual or firm” connected to the Scania luxury bus, but Scania’s internal investigation leaves no room for doubt about the involvement of the Gadkari family.
Sonu Mehta/Hindustan Times
Nitin Gadkari had denied any connection to “any individual or firm” connected to the Scania luxury bus, but Scania’s internal investigation leaves no room for doubt about the involvement of the Gadkari family.
Sonu Mehta/Hindustan Times
In early March, when a Swedish public-television broadcaster,
SVT, reported that an Indian subsidiary of one of Sweden’s largest vehicle manufacturers, Scania AB, had provided a luxury bus to Nitin Gadkari for his personal use, the minister’s denial was immediate and absolute. Gadkari, the union minister for road transport and highways, claimed to have no connection with the bus. But an internal audit by Scania AB, which we have accessed, reveals that the union minister outright lied. The audit examined emails and messages exchanged between top Scania executives and Gadkari’s sons, Sarang and Nikhil. Their correspondence revealed visits by the Gadkari family to the Scania facility in Bengaluru to inspect the bus, specifications about the desired interiors for the bus, and even disclosed payments organised by them. The audit report concluded, “The actual acquirers of the bus were Messrs. Nitin, Sarang and Nikhil Gadkari.”