New Delhi:
Amar Singh was interrogated by the Delhi Police today over his alleged role in the cash-for-votes scam.
After the questioning that lasted 3 hours, police sources said they are likely to call the former Samajwadi Party leader again next week.
"Police need to first interrogate others. They also need time to corroborate his statement with what others have said," added sources.
The police claims it has got evidence that links Amar Singh to one of the two men arrested for trying to bribe three BJP MPs.
These MPs stormed into the Lok Sabha on July 22, 2008, waving bundles of cash, hours before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's trust vote. They claimed they had been offered a crore by men acting on behalf of Mr Singh, a Rajya Sabha MP. The PM won the vote.
The BJP MPs at the heart of the scandal are Ashok Argal, Faggan Singh Kulaste and Mahavir Bhagora. At the time of the no-confidence vote, Mr Singh's Samajwadi Party was a crucial ally of the UPA coalition at the Centre - it provided the PM external support.
The two men arrested by the police since Sunday are Sanjeev Saxena and Sohail Hindustani. Mr Singh has denied knowing Mr Saxena well. But phone records accessed by the police show that Mr Saxena used his cellphone to call Mr Singh's residence six times in the hours before the trust vote began. Mr Saxena is allegedly caught on hidden camera offering the money to the BJP MPs, who say he introduced himself to them as Mr Singh's secretary. Mr Singh denies that Mr Saxena was ever his aide, but the police has documents including a note from Mr Singh intended to help Mr Saxena's son get admission in a college. The letter clearly introduces Mr Saxena as his secretary.
The police have also extensively questioned Sohail Hindustani, who was arrested on Wednesday. Mr Hindustani allegedly tried to shop the BJP MPs around to Congress leaders before the trust vote. Several turned down his officer, according to the police. They claim that Mr Hindustani then approached the Samajwadi Party via its leader Rewati Raman Singh. The police believe that Amar Singh did not depute Mr Hindustani to find BJP MPs who could be bought. Rather, Mr Hindustani knocked on the doors of the Samajwadi Party, promising that he could deliver three BJP MPs.
Mr Hindustani's lawyers, who describe him as "a whistle-blower", accused the police of "giving a clean chit to the Congress and the Samajwadi Party" even before the investigations got into full swing. The BJP concurred.
The BJP's own role has also been questioned. A report in the Tehelka newsmagazine earlier this year revealed that the party may have urged its MPs to put themselves on the market ahead of the trust vote, in the hope of exposing the UPA's willingness to buy support. This is why, some say, the BJP also co-opted a TV channel to shoot the negotiations between the MPs, Mr Saxena and Mr Hindustani.
After the questioning that lasted 3 hours, police sources said they are likely to call the former Samajwadi Party leader again next week.
"Police need to first interrogate others. They also need time to corroborate his statement with what others have said," added sources.
The police claims it has got evidence that links Amar Singh to one of the two men arrested for trying to bribe three BJP MPs.
These MPs stormed into the Lok Sabha on July 22, 2008, waving bundles of cash, hours before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's trust vote. They claimed they had been offered a crore by men acting on behalf of Mr Singh, a Rajya Sabha MP. The PM won the vote.
The BJP MPs at the heart of the scandal are Ashok Argal, Faggan Singh Kulaste and Mahavir Bhagora. At the time of the no-confidence vote, Mr Singh's Samajwadi Party was a crucial ally of the UPA coalition at the Centre - it provided the PM external support.
The two men arrested by the police since Sunday are Sanjeev Saxena and Sohail Hindustani. Mr Singh has denied knowing Mr Saxena well. But phone records accessed by the police show that Mr Saxena used his cellphone to call Mr Singh's residence six times in the hours before the trust vote began. Mr Saxena is allegedly caught on hidden camera offering the money to the BJP MPs, who say he introduced himself to them as Mr Singh's secretary. Mr Singh denies that Mr Saxena was ever his aide, but the police has documents including a note from Mr Singh intended to help Mr Saxena's son get admission in a college. The letter clearly introduces Mr Saxena as his secretary.
The police have also extensively questioned Sohail Hindustani, who was arrested on Wednesday. Mr Hindustani allegedly tried to shop the BJP MPs around to Congress leaders before the trust vote. Several turned down his officer, according to the police. They claim that Mr Hindustani then approached the Samajwadi Party via its leader Rewati Raman Singh. The police believe that Amar Singh did not depute Mr Hindustani to find BJP MPs who could be bought. Rather, Mr Hindustani knocked on the doors of the Samajwadi Party, promising that he could deliver three BJP MPs.
Mr Hindustani's lawyers, who describe him as "a whistle-blower", accused the police of "giving a clean chit to the Congress and the Samajwadi Party" even before the investigations got into full swing. The BJP concurred.
The BJP's own role has also been questioned. A report in the Tehelka newsmagazine earlier this year revealed that the party may have urged its MPs to put themselves on the market ahead of the trust vote, in the hope of exposing the UPA's willingness to buy support. This is why, some say, the BJP also co-opted a TV channel to shoot the negotiations between the MPs, Mr Saxena and Mr Hindustani.
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