Rail Neer scam accused in CBI custody till Oct 23

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Monday allowed the CBI to interrogate two senior railway officials and a businessman — arrested on allegations of corruption in connection with the supply of packaged drinking water on super fast trains — for five days.

Special CBI judge Vinod Kumar remanded chief commercial managers Sandeep Silas and MS Chalia and 70-year-old businessman Sharan Bihari Aggarwal to the agency’s custody till October 23. They were arrested on the night of October 17.

CBI said six days of interrogation were needed to ascertain the entire conspiracy and recover some documents. It also said the uncooperative accused needed to be grilled about their bank lockers in Delhi and Agra.

The agency said it had recovered nearly `28 crore from Aggarwal’s house, of which `4 lakh was counterfeit.

Countering CBI’s argument, senior advocate Vikas Pahwa, appearing for Chalia, told the court that his client was cooperating. He also added that Chalia was arrested on October 16, a day before the CBI said it had taken him in custody.

Pahwa added that his client’s remand was not needed to make the agency’s case as the remaining probe depended upon the investigation of the paper trail behind the conspiracy.

Aggarwal’s counsel said he was innocent and had merely been filling a shortage of Rail Neer with another branded water product, like Parle, also approved by the Railways.