Court rejects Elder Pharma officials anticipatory bail in bribe case

New Delhi : A court here rejected the anticipatory bail plea of chief operating officer of Elder Pharmaceuticals Anuj Saxena and said that “his custodial interrogation is must”.

Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Special Judge Gurdeep Singh, while rejecting the bail application of Saxena said: “In such cases, where the larger conspiracy is to be unearthed and the chain of event is to be reconstructed, custodial interrogation of the applicant (Saxena) is required.”

The court’s remark came while observing the phone calls, which revealed that on Saxena’s instruction, the bribe was paid to senior Ministry of Corporate Affairs official B.K. Bansal.

Saxena has contacted another co-accused Vishwadeep Bansal to negotiate with senior Corporate Affairs Ministry official for not recommending the matter to Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) for investigation against his company Elder Pharmaceuticals.

The CBI has alleged that MCA officer Bansal was dealing with the violation done by Elder Pharmaceuticals.

The court observed that Saxena’s role is direct as he was beneficiary from the alleged offence.

“Keeping in view the nature of allegations, seriousness of offence and role of applicant (Saxena), I am of the opinion that Saxena is not entitled to the anticipatory bail,” the court said.

Public Prosecutor K.P. Singh has also opposed Saxena’s plea seeking relief.

Key accused B.K. Bansal is out on interim bail till August 22.

Bansal was granted interim bail on July 22 for the cremation of his wife Satyabala, 57, and daughter Neha, 27, who committed suicide a day earlier at their flat in Neelkanth Apartments in east Delhi’s Madhu Vihar area.

Later, his interim bail was extended on July 24 and August 3.

Both women were upset over two CBI searches at their residence.

Bansal, an additional secretary-ranked Director General in the Ministry, was arrested by the CBI on bribery charge on July 16.

He was accused of receiving Rs 9 lakh from Mumbai-based Elder Pharmaceuticals.

Other two co-accused Vishwadeep Bansal, a distributor of Elder Pharmaceuticals, and chartered accountant Gopal Krishan is in judicial custody till August 19.