Agarwal's bail petition rejected in RS horse trading case

A special CBI court today rejected the bail petition of industrialist R K Agarwal, an accused in the 'horse trading' case lodged by the CBI after cancellation of the 2012 Rajya Sabha elections for two seats in Jharkhand.
The court of R K Choudhary, which reserved judgement on the petition after conclusion of arguments yesterday, rejected it today on the ground that granting him bail could affect the investigation.
On January 21, the court had dismissed Agarwal's plea of getting him discharged from the case and had fixed January 24 to frame charges against him.
The court, however, fixed a February 7 as the new date for framing charges against the accused.

The March 30, 2012 RS polls had been countermanded after the police and Income Tax officials recovered Rs 2.15 crore from a car near Namkum on the outskirts of Ranchi and the police alleged that the cash was being carried by a relative of Agarwal, who was one of the independent candidates.
The polls were later held afresh on May 3.
The CBI, which is also investigating the 2010 RS elections following allegations of horse trading, has raided the premises of several sitting and former MLAs and business men in connection with the two cases.