Shahid Balwa and Raja meet in CBI van

City lawyers debate CBI's decision to take the duo to court in the same vehicle

Shahid Balwa and Raja meet in CBI van

City lawyers debate CBI's decision to take the duo to court in the same vehicle

IN what some see as a breach of investigative protocol, the Delhi CBI took A Raja and Shahid Balwa two of the key accused in the 2G spectrum scam to court in the same vehicle yesterday.

Lawyers in the city feel it was inappropriate for the CBI to do so as it could have given the duo time to discuss their interrogation as well as ways to mislead investigators.

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Shahid Balwa, DB Realty MD, with CBI officialsu00a0Balwa sitting next to A Raja in the vehicle. The duo were taken to Patiala House Court of the CBI yesterday

Usually, investigators do not bring two accused held in high-profile cases face to face for this very reason.

The CBI, too, had taken this precaution earlier and ensured that both Raja and Balwa were kept in separate makeshift cells that were made at the CBI headquarters in the Capital.

Eyewitnesses, however, saw both Raja and Balwa being taken to the Patiala House court of the CBI in
the same vehicle (bearing registration number 1260) around 1.40 pm yesterday.
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There was only one gypsy escorting them for security purposes.

Senior criminal lawyer Dinesh Tiwari said, "Ideally, the CBI should have ensured that the two accused should have been taken separately in two different cars.

Not doing so could have given them an opportunity to discuss the questioning and the stand taken by the other accused.

Usually, the cops escorting the accused are junior police officers and, in most cases, they do not restrict conversations between the accused.

They could have also discussed ways of misleading the investigators or tampering with witnesses."

Strategy?

Senior counsel and former public prosecutor Rohini Salian, however, feels that the CBI may have deliberately brought the duo face to face as part of an investigating strategy.

The Other Side

"I am not aware of the exact details of the case. The Delhi CBI may have taken them in the same vehicle as there is a manpower shortage.

Taking the accused in two separate vehicles would have required more personnel to escort them," said a senior official from the Mumbai CBI. Officials from the Delhi CBI could not be reached for comment.