By IANS
New Delhi : A city court Saturday rejected the bail plea of arms dealer Suresh Nanda and his son Sanjeev, arrested for allegedly trying to bribe an income tax official in Mumbai last month, saying that they could tamper with the evidence if set free.
Rejecting their bail applications, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Special Judge I.K. Kochhar said, “The investigation is in its initial stages and releasing them at this point can hamper the probe.”
The CBI had Friday opposed their bail plea by reading out the transcripts of the 94 calls exchanged between the Nandas, income tax official Ashutosh Verma and chartered accountant Bipin Shah between Feb 7 and March 8. The four were arrested March 9.
“The Nandas were in touch with Verma from Feb 7 till March 8 and made 94 calls to one another. We are investigating this matter,” said CBI counsel V.P. Singh, objecting to their bail request.
Last week, the court sent the father-son duo along with Indian Revenue Service officer Verma and chartered accountant Bipin Shah to judicial custody till April 11.
The four had gathered in a Mumbai hotel room allegedly to negotiate the bribe amount to be paid to Verma. CBI sources said Verma had struck a deal for Rs.100 million.
Sanjeev Nanda is also accused of mowing down six people with his BMW car in a hit-and-run case in New Delhi in 1999.