Syndicate Bank CMD, Bhushan steel MD sent to police custody

A Delhi court today sent Syndicate Bank Chief Managing Director (CMD) Sudhir Kumar Jain and Bhushan Steel Ltd. Vice chairman and managing director Neeraj Singal to police custody till August 12 in a bribery case.
Justifying the decision to send them to police custody, special CBI Judge Swarana Kanta Sharma said the trail and source of the alleged bribe amount is yet to be found out and the person who had carried the amount from Delhi to Bhopal on behalf of Neeraj Singal is yet to be traced.
"In my opinion, police custody remand of the accused Neeraj Singal is made out. I, therefore, deem it appropriate to remand accused Neeraj Singal and accused Sudhir Kumar Jain to police custody till August 12, 2014," the judge said.

CBI has filed two cases against Jain -- accusing him of receiving a bribe of Rs 50 lakh through conduits and abusing his official position to enhance the credit limits of some companies in violation of laid-down procedures.
The court also sent co-accused Vineet Godha, Puneet Godha and Vijay Pahuja, alias Soni, to police custody remand till August 11 but sent chief financial officer of Bhushan Steel Ltd. Arun Agarwal, arrested by CBI on August 2, to fourteen days judicial custody.
Senior public prosecutor Akshay Gautam pleaded for 14 days police custody of Neeraj Singal and eight-day police custody of Sudhir Kumar Jain, Vineet Godha, Puneet Godha and Vijay Pahuja.

He said the source of the money and the chain of events regarding the payment of bribe is to be ascertained and the accused perons need to be confronted with each other.

Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, appearing for Neeraj Singal, opposed the contention of CBI for police custody saying he had voluntarily appeared before the investigating agency on Thursday but was arrested by it.
"Since anticipatory bail of the applicant (Singal) was rejected by the court, he, being a law-abiding citizen, voluntarily appeared before CBI which could be ascertained by call details and was arrested," said Luthra.
"I have gone through the case diary carefully and which has been paginated. Having gone through the documents and role assigned to each accused, in my opinion, it is essential to conduct their custodial interrogation," the judge said.