(TOI)
NEW DELHI. National Aluminium Company Ltd (Nalco) chairman-cum-managing director AK Srivastava, his wife Chandni and two accomplices, who were arrested on Friday, were sent to CBI custody till March 3 by a local court here on Saturday. CBI arrested the navratna PSU chief and his wife on charges of allegedly accepting gold bricks as bribe for manipulating Nalco contracts. CBI sources said the arrests were made after the agency tapped three phones of Srivastava and his conduits -- Bhusan Lal Bajaj and his wife Anita.
The CBI told the court on Saturday that the Bajajs were brokering a deal between Srivastava and Bhatia International, an Indore-based coal import firm. The agency also raided the residence of the firm's owner, Gurinder Singh Bhatia, in Indore. The Bajajs were also allegedly working as a conduit for other coal suppliers.
Srivastava asked Bajaj to convert the bribe amount into gold bricks and deliver them, the CBI claimed. CBI told the court that Srivastava and Bajaj decided to deposit the gold through their spouses in lockers at Shahjahan Road branch of Bank of Maharashtra or Mayur Vihar Phase-1 branch of Bank of India. As per the deal, Anita collected the gold bricks and handed over to Chandni.
Gold worth Rs 2.13 crore and Rs 9.5 lakh in cash were recovered from locker number 127 of Bank of Maharashtra, while Rs 15 lakh was found from the Bank of India locker. CBI claimed it also found Rs five lakh in cash in Chandani's bag.
There was high drama at the Patiala House Court here on Saturday. Chandni broke down, claiming her husband was innocent. Once the proceedings began, Chandani, sobbing profusely, interrupted the court: "The bank locker is in my name. I operate it. My husband has nothing to do with it. He is innocent."
The Nalco chief, too, pleaded innocence before the judge. "I was not involved in anything. Nothing has been recovered from my house during the search. I am innocent."
The ministry of mines on Saturday suspended Srivastava. Nalco director (finance) B L Bagra has been temporarily entrusted with the responsibility of chairman-cum-MD. In Bhubaneswar, Nalco had to postpone its board meeting on Saturday following the Friday's arrest.
Srivastava took over as the Nalco chief in October, 2009. Prior to that, he was CMD of Cement Corporation of India for nearly five years.
NEW DELHI. National Aluminium Company Ltd (Nalco) chairman-cum-managing director AK Srivastava, his wife Chandni and two accomplices, who were arrested on Friday, were sent to CBI custody till March 3 by a local court here on Saturday. CBI arrested the navratna PSU chief and his wife on charges of allegedly accepting gold bricks as bribe for manipulating Nalco contracts. CBI sources said the arrests were made after the agency tapped three phones of Srivastava and his conduits -- Bhusan Lal Bajaj and his wife Anita.
The CBI told the court on Saturday that the Bajajs were brokering a deal between Srivastava and Bhatia International, an Indore-based coal import firm. The agency also raided the residence of the firm's owner, Gurinder Singh Bhatia, in Indore. The Bajajs were also allegedly working as a conduit for other coal suppliers.
Srivastava asked Bajaj to convert the bribe amount into gold bricks and deliver them, the CBI claimed. CBI told the court that Srivastava and Bajaj decided to deposit the gold through their spouses in lockers at Shahjahan Road branch of Bank of Maharashtra or Mayur Vihar Phase-1 branch of Bank of India. As per the deal, Anita collected the gold bricks and handed over to Chandni.
Gold worth Rs 2.13 crore and Rs 9.5 lakh in cash were recovered from locker number 127 of Bank of Maharashtra, while Rs 15 lakh was found from the Bank of India locker. CBI claimed it also found Rs five lakh in cash in Chandani's bag.
There was high drama at the Patiala House Court here on Saturday. Chandni broke down, claiming her husband was innocent. Once the proceedings began, Chandani, sobbing profusely, interrupted the court: "The bank locker is in my name. I operate it. My husband has nothing to do with it. He is innocent."
The Nalco chief, too, pleaded innocence before the judge. "I was not involved in anything. Nothing has been recovered from my house during the search. I am innocent."
The ministry of mines on Saturday suspended Srivastava. Nalco director (finance) B L Bagra has been temporarily entrusted with the responsibility of chairman-cum-MD. In Bhubaneswar, Nalco had to postpone its board meeting on Saturday following the Friday's arrest.
Srivastava took over as the Nalco chief in October, 2009. Prior to that, he was CMD of Cement Corporation of India for nearly five years.
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