New Delhi: A Delhi court on Thursday dismissed
the bail plea of two top CWG Organising Committee officials
arrested in connection with alleged irregularities in awarding
a Rs 107 crore contract to a Swiss firm.
OC`s former Secretary General Lalit Bhanot and its
ex-Director General VK Verma had moved their bail plea saying
CBI had deliberately added harsher penal provision of section
467 (forgery of valuable security) of the IPC against them so
that they could get 90-days to file the charge sheet.
The defence counsel, while arguing on the bail plea
before Special Judge Talwant Singh, said that section 467 of
the IPC has been added as this offence is punishable upto life
term.
They said that CBI should have filed the charge sheet
against the duo within 60-days, which has already expired, but
they have added section 467 of IPC so that they could get 90
days time to file the police report.
They argued that CBI has not told the court about the
valuable securities.
Countering the defence counsel, CBI prosecutor VK
Sharma said that probe in the case is going on.
"Bail applications of both the accused are dismissed,"
the court said.
Bhanot and Verma are presently in judicial custody
till May 5. They were arrested by CBI on February 23 for
alleged irregularities in awarding Rs 107-crore contract to
the Swiss firm in procuring the Timing, Scoring and Result
(TSR) system for the Commonwealth Games.
CBI has registered a case against the two under
sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) of IPC
and various sections of Prevention of Corruption Act, along
with Switzerland-based firm Swiss Timing Ltd and other unnamed
persons.
OC Chairman Suresh Kalmadi and two other officials
were also arrested in the same case on April 25. They are
presently in CBI`s custody till May 4.
Kalmadi, suspended Congress MP from Pune, and the two
other officials-- OC Joint Director General (Sport) ASV
Prasad and OC Deputy Director General (Procurement) Surjit
Lal-- have been booked under sections 120 B (conspiracy), 420
(cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery
for purpose of cheating) and 471 (using as genuine a forged
document) of the IPC besides other relevant sections of the
Prevention of Corruption Act.
PTI
