By IANS,
Chandigarh : A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court Saturday sent in CBI custody for two days former Haryana advocate general Sanjeev Bansal and three others accused in the judges bribery scandal.
The court allowed defence lawyers to remain present during the interrogation between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m., police said.
Bansal along with his assistant Parkash, property dealer Rajiv Gupta and Nirmal Singh were produced in the jam-packed court of Special CBI Judge Jagdeep Jain Saturday afternoon.
A special team of CBI that came here from Delhi Friday had filed the application in the court of the special CBI judge demanding the custody of the four accused for seven days.
The investigating agency, which was handed over the case Wednesday, had registered a fresh case Thursday.
“CBI wants the custody of all the four accused as the officials want to interrogate them on their own lines. Bansal and the other accused have changed their statements several times and we cannot rely on the previous statements made to the Chandigarh police. There is a nexus of many high profile people in this case. Therefore, CBI wants their custody to unearth the hidden facts,” said the CBI counsel.
The Supreme Court has set up a separate panel to conduct an internal investigation into the matter.
The scam came to light after Parkash got a packet containing Rs.1.5 million delivered at the residence of high court judge Nirmaljit Kaur Aug 13.
The judge reported the matter to police. Police investigations revealed that the packet was supposed to be delivered to another high court judge, Nirmal Yadav.
The Chandigarh police registered a case under provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act against Bansal and others.
Following the controversy and the embarrassment caused to the high court in this matter, Justice Yadav proceeded on leave Aug 22.
Bansal, who is known to have good connections with many Haryana politicians, judges and lawyers, was forced to resign as Haryana’s top law officer after the scam broke out.
Justice Yadav’s name also figured during investigations done by the Chandigarh police when Bansal and Panchkula-based property dealer Rajiv Gupta told police that they had delivered another packet containing Rs.1.5 million at her residence in Sector 24 here.
Another accused Ravinder Singh, a Delhi-based hotelier, is still absconding.
The name of Justice Yadav has also figured in a land deal in Solan district of neighbouring Himachal Pradesh this month.