A Delhi court on Tuesday rejected the bail application of journalist Upendra Rai in a money laundering case, PTI reported. The case is connected to a Central Bureau of Investigation inquiry into allegations of extortion and dubious financial transactions against Rai.
The journalist has refuted all the allegations and claimed that he is being framed for reporting on an Enforcement Directorate officer investigating the 2G spectrum allocation scam case.
Additional Sessions Judge Rakesh Syal denied Rai’s bail plea, saying the allegations against him “were serious”. Syal took note of the statements of the Enforcement Directorate’s special public prosecutors NK Matta and Nitesh Rana, who said Rai may influence the witnesses and hinder the investigation if he is given bail.
On June 22, Rai was remanded to 14 days in judicial custody after the Enforcement Directorate told a Delhi court his interrogation was complete. The agency had arrested Rai and booked him under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act on June 8, soon after he secured bail in the extortion case that the CBI is investigating. In August, the CBI filed a chargesheet against Rai and four others in the case.
The Enforcement Directorate said classified documents, such as income tax assessment orders of different companies and reports of suspicious transaction of nearly 140 firms, were seized from Rai’s possession and have been submitted in court. The agency has also accused Rai of travelling abroad to deposit his illegally acquired income in foreign accounts.
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