Saxena remanded to 3-day police custody

Crime Branch wanted more time to get to the bottom of the 'conspiracy'

Saxena remanded to 3-day police custody

Crime Branch wanted more time to get to the bottom of the 'conspiracy'

A Delhi court has remanded Sanjeev Saxena, a close aid of Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh and indicted in the 2008 cash for vote scam, to three days of police custody.

Sanjeev Saxena, an aide of former SP general secretary Amar Singh,
arrested in connection with the cash-for-vote scam, being brought to
Tis Hazari court in New Delhi on Monday. PIC/Imtiyaz Khan

Saxena was arrested over the weekend and has been booked for various offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act. He will remain in custody till July 21.

On Monday, the Delhi Police in court said Saxena was a close aide of Singh, the then senior leader of the Samjawadi Party. Special judge Sangita Dhingra Sehgal took the decision on the Crime Branch plea that Saxena's custodial interrogation should be prolonged to get to the bottom of the "conspiracy".

The prosecution submitted that they have to question Saxena about the whereabouts of Sanjay, the then driver of Amar Singh, with whom he had allegedly gone to the residence of a BJP MP to hand over Rs 1 crore. The prosecution also submitted that they have to recover the mobile phone used during that period and to ascertain the source of money that allegedly changed hands.

Fact file
On July 22, 2008, hours before a crucial trust vote for the UPA government, three BJP MPs walked into the Lok Sabha brandishing bundles of notes. Ashok Argal, Faggan Singh Kulaste and Mahavir Bhagora alleged they had been offered a crore to support the Prime Minister. The no-confidence vote was moved after the Left withdrew support to the UPA over the Indo-Us nuclear deal issue.

A seven-member parliamentary committee was set up the same month to investigate BJP's claims. Slammed by the Supreme Court for a tardy probe in the scam, the Delhi Police had made its first arrest on Sunday. As of yet, Singh has denied any association with Saxena.