Cash-for-vote: SP's Rewati Raman to be quizzed tomorrow

NEW DELHI: Samajwadi Party MP Rewati Raman Singh will be quizzed tomorrow by Delhi Police in connection with the cash-for-vote scam even as investigators are trying to trace the money trail in the alleged bribing of BJP MPs ahead of the July 2008 trust vote.

Investigators are also preparing to question BJP MP Ashok Argal, who was allegedly given the bribe money, and BJP leader L K Advani's former aide Sudheendra Kulkarni this week before police submit its status report to Supreme Court this Friday.

The probe in the three-year-old scam gathered momentum last week after Supreme Court came down heavily on Delhi Police for its "callous" investigations in the case and two persons -- Amar Singh's former aide Sanjeev Saxena and BJP worker Suhail Hindustani -- were arrested.

Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh, who BJP alleges was behind the efforts to bribe its MPs, was also questioned after Saxena and Hindustani named him. Singh, however, denied any involvement in the scam.

"We have issued a notice to Rewati Raman Singh to appear before us tomorrow. We also plan to question Argal and Kulkarni before we submit the status report to Supreme Court. If something new comes up, Amar Singh may be called for questioning once again," a senior police official said.

However, sources said, Amar Singh may be called again only after the status report is filed in the Supreme Court.

Asked about the questioning of Rewati Raman, the 68-year-old Samajwadi Party MP, the official said they will ask him about the telephone call he received from Hindustani on the midnight of July 21 and 22.

Police had already given a virtual clean chit to Rewati Raman and others saying it was Hindustani only who tried to approach them for striking a deal for MPs to vote in favour of the UPA government.