Another accused in the NALCO bribery case, who was arrested on Monday, was sent to five-day CBI custody by a court here on Tuesday. The CBI told the court that Ratan Pal Singh Bhatia allegedly paid a bribe of Rs.20 lakh to the suspended managing director of the National Aluminium Company Ltd., A. K. Srivastava, on behalf of the Bhatia Group of Industries, through co-accused B. L. Bajaj, who acted as a middleman.
The CBI submitted the transcript of recorded conversations between Mr. Bhatia and Mr. Bajaj for a balance payment of Rs.40 lakh.
Special judge (CBI) O. P. Saini said the facts of the case revealed a “deep-rooted conspiracy between the accused persons regarding bribing a top-ranking public servant.”
The court sent Chandni Srivastava and Anita Bajaj, wives of the two main accused, who were apprehended by the CBI while depositing gold bricks in a Shahjahan Road bank locker, to 14-day judicial custody, after the CBI said the two were not needed for custodial interrogation.
