Rajya Sabha member Amar Singh was questioned by the Delhi Police Crime Branch for more than three hours on Friday in connection with the cash-for-votes scandal that rocked Parliament three years ago.
Mr. Singh, drove to the Crime Branch's Inter-State Cell at 10.45 a.m. and left around 2 p.m. The name of Mr. Singh figured prominently in the scandal with three Bharatiya Janata Party MPs, who displayed wads of cash in Parliament on July 22, 2008, accusing him of offering them Rs.3 crore each to abstain from voting.
Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha activist Sohail Hindustani, who was arrested by the Crime Branch on Wednesday, alleged that he was approached by Mr. Singh and several Congress leaders for “arranging” BJP MPs for the trust vote. Sanjeev Saxena, who was the first person to be arrested in the case on July 17, is also alleged to be a close aide of Mr. Singh.
Though senior police officers remained tight-lipped, informed sources said Mr. Singh was questioned about his association with Mr. Saxena, allegations levelled against him by the BJP MPs, and the role of his driver Sanjay, who has been named as one who accompanied Mr. Saxena when he went to deliver the cash. Mr. Singh was also confronted with Mr. Sohail and Mr. Saxena.
The sources said the police were likely to call Mr. Singh again for questioning after a status report was filed in the Supreme Court this coming week.
Meanwhile, the police have served notice on Samajwadi Party Lok Sabha member Rewati Raman Singh asking him to appear for questioning.
The three BJP MPs had alleged that it was Rewati Raman Singh who approached them with the offer and took them to the house of Mr. Amar Singh.
However, the police told the Sessions Court on Thursday that it was Mr. Sohail who contacted Mr. Raman Singh to entrap SP leaders after he failed to strike a deal with the Congress.
