Passing classified docs: 2 govt officers send to CBI custody

Two government servants, arrested for allegedly passing on classified information pertaining to the industrial policy and promotion of the government to a private person, were today remanded to CBI custody till March 17 by a Delhi court.
Ashok Kumar Singh, under secretary in Department of Disinvestment of the Finance Ministry, and Lala Ram Sharma, section officer in the Department of Economic Affairs, were produced before the court and the CBI sought their custodial interrogation for five days saying that they were required to be confronted with the documents seized during the probe.
The agency told Special CBI Judge S C Rajan that the third accused Khemchand Gandhi, a chartered accountant, was arrested from Mumbai yesterday and he will be brought to Delhi in transit remand for confronting him with these two accused.

CBI alleged that the two accused were passing on confidential documents to Gandhi, who is running a consultancy firm in Mumbai, in lieu of illegal gratification.
It said that raids were conducted yesterday at five places in Delhi, one each at Gurgaon and Mumbai and huge amount of cash and documents have been seized.
The counsel appearing for Ashok Kumar Singh opposed CBI's plea contending that the raids have already been conducted and there was no need to remand the accused in the agency's custody.

The court, after hearing the submissions, sent both the accused to CBI's custody till March 17.

"Keeping in view the gravity of the allegations against both the accused persons, I allow the application and grant five-day police custody remand of both the accused...," the judge said.
CBI's action of conducting raids and arresting accused came yesterday night after it registered a case of criminal conspiracy and theft under the IPC and misuse of official position under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act against the three persons.
They were arrested for allegedly passing on confidential documents related to foreign investment policy to corporate groups. The raids were conducted at several offices of Finance Ministry and Commerce Ministry, residences of Singh, Sharma and Gandhi.