3-day CBI remand for Assam Education Minister for offering bribe

New Delhi, Jun 4 (UNI) A city court today allowed three days CBI remand of Assam Education Minister Ripun Bora and one of his associates for allegedly offering Rs 10 lakh to a CBI officer investigating the case of a student's murder, in which Bora is a suspect.

Yesterday, Bora was arrested in New Delhi after the CBI sprung a trap.

Bora is a suspect in a seven-year-old murder case of a student leader Daniel Toppo. Since the case was transferred to the CBI, Bora reportedly approached a senior CBI officer in New Delhi and asked him to hush up the investigation and give him a clean chit. Two associates of the Minister, Ramesh Maheshwari and Mukul Pathak, reportedly approached the officer and offered an illegal gratification of Rs 10 lakh to settle the issue. The CBI official filed a complaint against all the three.

Bora and Maheshwari were arrested from Sunder Nagar in South Delhi, when Bora was allegedly offering the bribe to the official.

In Gawahati, Mukul Pathak, who the CBI claimed was another Bora associate, was also taken into custody.

Toppo, District President of the All Assam Tea Tribe Students' Union, was a candidate in the 1996 Assembly elections and Bora's rival. He was found dead under mysterious circumstances on September 27, 2000, and the case was handed over to the CBI in 2001.

Additional Sessions Judge R K Yadav today, after hearing the CBI plea, ordered three days remand of Bora and his associate Maheshwari and adjourned the matter for hearing on the bail application of both for June 7.

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