Cash-for-vote scam: Suhail, Saxena sent to Tihar Jail

New Delhi, Jul 22: Arrested for their alleged involvement in the 2008 cash-for-vote scam, Suhail Hindustani and Sanjeev Saxena were sent to Tihar Jail today (Jul 22) by a Delhi court after the city police probing the case told it that they were no longer required for interrogation.

"Both accused are remanded to judicial custody till August 5," Special Judge Sangeeta Dhingra Sehgal said, while sending the duo to judicial custody in Tihar Jail.

On the court's query about the duo's interrogation during the last 24 hours, Crime Branch sleuths of Delhi Police said Hindustani, whom they claim to be the key conspirator in the scam, was made to confront IAS officer S P Gupta, a witness in the case.

The prosecution counsel also submitted that the duo were personally interrogated by the Joint Commissioner of the Crime Branch.

The defence counsel, however, accused the police of not complying with the court's order saying that they were not allowed to remain present during the custodial interrogation of their clients despite the court's order for it on Thursday.

The police countered the allegations of the defence counsel saying they were conducting a fair probe in the matter.

Slammed by the Supreme Court for a shoddy probe into the cash-for-vote scam, Delhi Police had first arrested Saxena on July 17 and he was remanded in police custody for three days.

Hindustani was arrested on July 20. The duo have been booked for various offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act, the police said.

The case was registered in 2009 on recommendation by a Parliamentary panel which had probed the cash-for-vote scam dating back to July 2008.

On July 22, 2008, some BJP MPs had waved wads of currency notes on the floor of Lok Sabha during the trust vote faced by the UPA-I government, claiming that they were given the money to vote in favour of the Manmohan Singh government.

PTI