NEW DELHI: Delhi-based journalist Upendra Rai was today sent to three-day CBI custody by a special court, hours after Supreme Court refused to interfere with his arrest for alleged involvement in dubious financial transactions and fraudulently acquiring an airport access pass.
Special CBI Judge Santosh Snehi Mann remanded Rai to CBI custody after the probe agency told the special court that substantial amount of incriminating material have been recovered and he has not been cooperating with the investigation.
The CBI had yesterday arrested Rai for allegedly indulging in dubious financial transactions and getting an airport access pass made by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) by furnishing false information.
The journalist in the morning claimed before the apex court that there was a witch-hunt by the investigating agencies against him and said whenever he made any averments against officials probing 2G spectrum allocation cases, he was falsely implicated.
A bench of Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan said it cannot interfere with the arrest and adjourned the matter for next week.
Senior advocate Meenakshi Arora, appearing for Rai, said: "as a journalist whenever I have raised serious questions on the investigation done by Enforcement Directorate official probing 2G spectrum allocation scam or the department, I was framed".
She said that day before yesterday, "I was called by CBI and yesterday I was arrested on a mere allegation that I had fraudulently acquired an aerodrome pass.
"My case is that I have made certain averments against the officer concerned and the department with regard to investigation done in 2G case and I was framed."
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for ED official Rajeshwar Singh, said this was an attempt made by levelling scurrilous allegations against him.
"False allegations are being made to tarnish the image of the officer and attempts being made to pressurise him."
He said that 2G probe was being monitored by the apex court and allegations were made against the officer when he started probing Aircel-Maxis case and attached some properties in the matter.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for NGO Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL), said that Malaysian business tycoon T Ananda Krishnan accused in Aircel-Maxis deal case was not responding to summons and hence his properties should be attached.
Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for CBI, said since the bench is first time hearing the matter, he would like to submit a chronological summary of the events and the orders passed by the court, over the period of time.
The top court said it cannot interfere in the matter and asked the ASG to submit a chronological chart of the facts and orders in the 2G case by next date of hearing.
Rai was yesterday questioned at the agency headquarters along with two others for the entire day before being arrested, officials had said.
Prasun Roy, chief security officer of Air One Aviation Pvt Ltd, was also booked by the CBI in the case, they had said, adding that the probe agency had carried out searches at eight locations in Lucknow, Noida, Delhi and Mumbai.
In its FIR, the agency alleged that going by the value of transactions above Rs 1 lakh during 2017, Rai's accounts received Rs 79 crore while Rs 78.51 crore was debited from it during the same period.
The CBI alleged that Rai had purchased a fleet of cars out of the ill-gotten money.
It also claimed that he had received Rs 16 crore in a year from shell companies for bribing and fixing cases in the Income Tax department and also received Rs 6.5 crore from Sahara India in one year.
The agency had also alleged that two persons, Rahul Sharma and Sanjay Snehi, allegedly assisted Rai to park the money and claimed that Rai, in criminal conspiracy with Prasun Roy and others, cheated the BCAS and the Delhi International Airport (DIAL) and fraudulently obtained a temporary and later a permanent Aerodrome Entry Pass (AEP).
By getting the right to access all airports in the country, Rai jeopardised national security, the agency had alleged, adding that Rai was not technically qualified and his name was not approved by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation for the post of the director general of quality control of Air One.
Rai also received Rs 1.02 crore from Air One in four installments, the CBI had claimed.