CBI: Asthana's aide fears threat to life

Benched CBI Special Director Rakesh Asthana's trusted aide Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Devender Kumar on Tuesday told special CBI judge Santosh Snehi Mann at the Patiala Courts here threat to his life if jailed in Delhi after remanded to a 14-day custody in the Tihar Jails here.

The judge, however, did not react and deferred his bail application for hearing on Wednesday. Also sent to judicial custody for 14 days is middleman Manoj Prasad from Dubai allegedly taking bribe money through his lawyer uncle in Delhi from businessman Satish Babh Sana on behalf of Asthana.

The judge sent both to judicial custody after the CBI that had taken them on a week's remand said it no longer requires them for further custodial interrogation.

During the hearing, Devender Kumar, who was produced after the expiry of his seven-day custodial interrogation, urged the court to register a case of theft and extortion against the CBI officials probing the case against him as they were tampering with and fabricating the evidence. The Court sought the CBI's reply to his charge and his bail application to be heard on Wednesday.

In his bail application, moved through advocate Rahul Tyagi, Kumar wanted the FIR against him quashed, asserting that his custody was "illegal." Businessman Manoj Prasad and his absconding brother Somesh Prasad, have been named as accused besides Asthana and Kumar in the FIR registered on October 15.

Devender Kumar is charged with conspiracy and forgery in recording a fictitious statement of businessman Sana that he had paid bribe to CBI Director Alok Verma to quash the money laundering case in which he was implicated in the multiple cases being probed against UP meat exporter Moin Qureshi.

The FIR was registered on the basis of Sana's complaint that Kumar was harassing him and forcing him to pay a bribe of Rs 5 crore to Asthana heading the SIT against Qureshi and that he had not alleged paying bribe to Verma as concocted by Kumar.