Court to hear journalist Upendra Rai's bail plea

A Delhi court would hear on August 31 the bail application of journalist Upendra Rai in a money laundering case related to alleged extortion and dubious financial transactions.

Additional Sessions Judge Saurabh Kulshrestra fixed the matter after the counsel appearing for Rai sought time to advance the arguments on the application.

In his bail application, Rai has claimed that he was not required for further custodial interrogation and no purpose will be served by keeping him in further custody.

The application said that Delhi-based scribe was ready to abide by any condition imposed by the court.

Rai, currently in judicial custody, had denied before the court all the allegations levelled against him by the Enforcement Directorate.

The agency, through special public prosecutors N K Matta and Nitesh Rana, had claimed before the court that "top secret documents" were recovered from Rai's possession and the ED was trying to find out how he procured them.

It alleged that the accused had extorted money from various persons claiming he had information against them as he was a journalist.

Thousands of crores of rupees was extorted, the ED had alleged in its charge sheet filed through advocate A R Aditya.

Rai was arrested on June 8 by the agency under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) at the Tihar jail here, moments after he secured bail in a Central Bureau of Investigation case related to alleged extortion and dubious financial transactions.

He was arrested by the CBI on May 3 for allegedly indulging in dubious financial transactions, getting an airport access pass made by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) by furnishing false information, alleged extortion and manipulation of an Income Tax Department case against a Mumbai-bound businessman.

The ED had registered a money laundering case against him based on the CBI FIR.

In its FIR, the CBI has alleged that going by the value of transactions of over Rs one lakh during 2017, Rai's accounts received Rs 79 crore while Rs 78.51 crore was debited from it during the same period.