A Delhi court on Thursday asked CBI about its stand on a demand by alleged arms dealer Abhishek Verma to provide him with 24-hour security cover so that he can undergo a polygraph test in an anti-Sikh riots case involving senior Congress leader Jagdish Tytler.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate at the Karkardooma courts, Shivali Sharma, said she wanted to know the stand of the investigating officer of the case on this issue, and listed the matter for July 18 as the probe officer was not present at the hearing.
Earlier, Verma informed the court that he was ready to undergo the test if he and his family members were provided round-the-clock security. The CBI has cited Verma as a witness in the case and sought the court’s permission to put him through the lie-detection test, stating that it was needed for the purpose of further investigation.
‘Witness paid ₹1 crore’
Verma had said in a statement recorded by the CBI that Mr. Tytler paid about ₹1 crore to Surinder Singh Granthi, a prosecution witness in the case, and arranged for a visa for $50,000 to send his son, Narinder Singh, another witness in the case, to Canada in return for a statement in his favour.
Verma’s statement is based on what Mr. Tytler allegedly told him during a meeting in 2008. The businessman stated that Mr. Tytler had told him that a deal had been struck with Mr. Surinder Singh, according to which he was to be paid a hefty amount as he (the witness) had given a statement against him.
In its closure report, the CBI said that the evidence offered by Verma indicated that Mr. Tytler might have tried to influence the witness.
However, it could not be verified as the witness, Surinder Singh Granthi, was dead. Also, the statement of the witness was found to be false, concocted and a result of an afterthought in the investigation conducted earlier, the CBI said.
