Accused in Syndicate Bank bribery case refuse to give voice samples

NEW DELHI: Five of the accused in the Syndicate Bank bribery case have refused to give their voice samples to CBI which has heavily depended on their taped telephonic conversations in its probe.

CBI sources said suspended Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the Bank S K Jain, his cousins Vineet and Puneet Godha, Vijay Pahuja and Ved Prakash Agarwal have refused to give their voice samples.

The agency had sought their voice samples to match them with the taped conversations to identify the actors in those interactions but the accused have refused, they said, adding such refusals would go against the accused in the court.

The probe agency would be confronting Vice Chairman of Bhushan Steel Neeraj Singal and Jain in next few days in the Rs 50 lakh bribery case. The CBI probe is heavily dependent on the telephonic conversations which were intercepted by the agency during last six months.

After coming to know about the exact date of transaction of bribe, the agency had nabbed Jain while Singal was arrested yesterday after his anticipatory bail plea was rejected by CBI court.

In the two FIRs, CBI has named Neeraj Singal, Ved Prakash Agarwal, Chairman-cum-Managing Director of Prakash Industries, Pawan Bansal, chartered accountant, Vineet and Puneet Godha (relatives of Jain), Vijay Pahuja, Purushotam Totlani and Pankaj Bansal. They have been booked under various provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and criminal conspiracy under the IPC.