Cash-for-votes scam: Delhi police grills Amar Singh

With his name figuring in the 2008 'cash-for-vote' scam, Rajya Sabha member of Parliament Amar Singh was on Friday questioned for over three hours by Delhi Police which is set to expand the ambit of its probe into the case by quizzing Samajwadi Party leader Reoti Raman Singh.

Singh, a former Samajwadi Party leader, was grilled by police officials at the Crime Branch office in Chanakyapuri during which he denied any involvement in the scam that rocked the country on this day three years back.

He was confronted with two arrested accused -- Sanjeev Saxena, considered close to him, and Suhail Hindustani, alleged to be a go-between the bribe-givers and bribe-takers, who had named him in the scam.

Police officials did not rule out the possibility of Singh being questioned again. Amar Singh, who is accused of sending bribe money to win over three Bharatiya Janata Party MPs during the 2008 Confidence Motion, did not speak to the waiting mediapersons.

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The police, which was slammed by the Supreme Court last week for "callous" approach to the case, is set to expand the probe. It has summoned Reoti Raman on Saturday, who is alleged to have been contacted by Hindustani on the midnight of July 21 and 22, 2008 for striking a deal to buy BJP MPs.

Police is also planning to question BJP MP Ashok Argal, who allegedly was sought to be bribed, besides BJP leader L K Advani's former aide Sudheendra Kulkarni, who is alleged to have organised a sting operation to expose alleged bribery effort.

Argal could be questioned on Monday, police sources said. The sources said the Crime Branch team, led by Deputy Commissioner of police Ashok Chand, grilled Amar Singh about his links with Saxena as also Hindustani.

Significantly, Additional Deputy Commissioner of police (Special Cell) L N Rao, who had investigated the phone tapping case of Amar Singh few years back, was also part of the team which questioned the former SP leader.

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Amar Singh was summoned by police under Section 160 of the Criminal Procedure Code. He came to the Crime Branch's Inter-State Cell in Chanakyapuri at 10.45 am in his Mercedes car.

On Sunday, police had arrested Sanjeev Saxena who allegedly delivered cash to the MPs to vote in favour of the UPA during the trust vote.

Police sources said some accounts have been identified from which money, displayed in Lok Sabha during the Confidence Motion by three BJP MPs, was withdrawn. One of the accounts belongs to a real estate company, the sources said but did not give further details.