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Defence bribery case: CBI custody of Kansal extended by four days
A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Pune on Monday extended businessman Ashish Kansal’s CBI custody by four days in a case involving alleged bribery to secure government contracts linked to the defence establishment, lawyers said on Wednesday
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A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Pune on Monday extended businessman Ashish Kansal’s CBI custody by four days in a case involving alleged bribery to secure government contracts linked to the defence establishment, lawyers said on Wednesday.
The CBI told the court that it needed to question Kansal alongside a Delhi-based angadia, a traditional courier allegedly used to route financial transactions linked to the case. The agency alleged that Kansal’s startup had secured a contract in violation of rules.
Special CBI judge RR Mendhe observed that, given the case’s implications for the country’s defence system, a detailed investigation was necessary to determine whether the accused were involved in similar offences.
The CBI has arrested Kansal, Anilkumar BR, executive director of Munitions India Limited’s Pune establishment, and his brother Harshvardhan BR over allegations of bribery involving contracts awarded by the defence public sector undertaking.
Seeking five additional days of custody, investigating officer inspector Avinash Gupta and special public prosecutor Abhayraj Arikar said mobile phones, electronic devices and documents seized from the accused required further examination.
The CBI alleged that Kansal had obtained confidential information from a government official. Investigators said they needed to establish how the startup secured the contract, trace the alleged financial transactions and identify others potentially involved.
Opposing the custody extension, Kansal’s lawyer, SK Jain, questioned why the businessman and the Delhi-based courier had not been interrogated together before Kansal was brought to Pune.
Representing the two other accused, advocate GJ Bhosale challenged the legality of their arrests, alleging that the CBI had failed to comply with applicable legal provisions. He sought time to submit relevant judicial precedents.
After hearing both sides, the court extended Kansal’s CBI custody by four days and remanded Anilkumar and Harshvardhan to judicial custody until October 22.
