CBI opposes Bansal's bail plea; court to pass order tomorrow

CBI today opposed the bail plea of Director General Corporate Affairs B K Bansal, whose wife and daughter allegedly committed suicide last month, saying that if he was granted the relief, the "high-ranking official" could hamper probe.

The probe agency opposed Bansal's application for regular bail and told Special CBI Judge Gurdeep Singh that there were serious apprehensions that the bureaucrat may influence witnesses as he was "very influential". The court has reserved the order on the plea for tomorrow.

Bansal was earlier granted interim bail by the court after the death of his family members. He surrendered on August 22, following which he was sent to judicial custody till September 2.
 

During the day's hearing, senior advocate Ramesh Gupta, appearing for Bansal, said the accused had cooperated during the interim bail period and no purpose would be served by keeping him in custody.

Countering CBI's contention, the counsel submitted that while on interim bail, Bansal never tried to influence the probe or any witness.

He also said that all evidences have been recovered from his place and the investigation was almost complete in the case, which was mostly based on the "documentary evidences".

The bail plea was filed on the ground that he was already on interim bail since July 20 and during this period, his conduct was not questionable.

The court had granted him relief after his wife Satyabala (58) and daughter Neha (28) allegedly hung themselves from ceiling fans in separate rooms at their residence in Nilkanth Apartments in East Delhi's Madhu Vihar on July 19.

Earlier, Bansal had alleged before the court that CBI had compelled his wife and daughter to take the extreme step.

Bansal, an additional secretary-rank officer in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, was arrested on July 16 for allegedly accepting bribe from a prominent pharmaceutical company.

His wife and daughter allegedly committed suicide, leaving separate notes, saying CBI raid had caused "great humiliation" and they did not want to live after that. They, however, held nobody responsible for their death.