Thaindian News

Chandigarh, Aug 23 (IANS) A court here Saturday extended by three days the police remand of former Haryana additional advocate general Sanjeev Bansal in the cash-for-judge scam in which his assistant delivered Rs.1.5 million at a Punjab and Haryana high court judge’s residence here last week.Bansal was produced in the jam-packed court of Judicial Magistrate Mahesh Kumar Saturday evening where many lawyers were present in his support.

The Chandigarh police sought more remand for Bansal saying they needed to interrogate him further in the scam following recovery of some documents from his house in Panchkula near here.

The police had Friday night raided Bansal’s house in Panchkula town in Haryana. Police had also raided the house of Rajiv Gupta, a property dealer from Panchkula and a former petty criminal, Friday night. Gupta is also in police custody.

“There is a nexus of advocates and property dealers involved in this racket. Police have seized four computers, property documents, papers of income tax returns and registration certificates of three motor vehicles from Bansal’s house,” Anupam Gupta, standing counsel for the Chandigarh administration, told mediapersons.

“Now police have to interrogate Bansal for further details based on the seized documents. He is the main man in this whole episode who tried to bribe a judge,” Gupta said.

The case was registered here last week after Bansal’s munshi, or assistant, Prakash delivered a packet containing Rs.1.5 million in cash at the Sector 11 residence of Punjab and Haryana High Court judge Nirmaljit Kaur Aug 13.

The judge reported the matter to the police and the court. Bansal later maintained that the money was meant for someone else.

Another high court judge, Nirmal Yadav, Friday proceeded on leave after her name figured in the scam. Bansal is believed to have told police interrogators that the Rs 1.5 million was meant for another judge.

Yadav, however, has denied her role in the matter saying her name was being dragged in to shield others.

The police said they arrested the former law officer, who is known to be well connected to several politicians and judges, when he came to the Sector 11 police station earlier this week.