New Delhi:
Despite some very high-profile arrests, the Delhi Police is now missing hard evidence to link Amar Singh to the cash that was used to bribe three BJP MPs to support the government in a trust vote in Parliament in 2008. The police has not been able to trace the source of the money - this was revealed in the second chargesheet presented in court today in what's known as the cash-for-votes scam.
Amar Singh, a Rajya Sabha MP, was arrested earlier this month for organizing the cash that was paid to Ashok Argal, Faggan Singh Khulaste and Mahavir Bhaggora in July 2008. Mr Khulaste and Mr Bhagora, who are no longer MPs, are in jail. The Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Meira Kumar, has now granted permission for the prosecution of Mr Argal, who is still an MP.
On Tuesday, Sudheendra Kulkarni, former political advisor to BJP stalwarts like LK Advani was arrested. Mr Kulkarni says that he wanted to expose the UPA government's willingness to buy support to survive its trust vote. So he asked three MPs to solicit offers for their votes. According to him, and the Delhi Police, Amar Singh took the bait. He used an assistant named Sanjeev Saxena to negotiate with the trio of MPs and pay them one crore in advance. The deal was reportedly finalised for three crores per MP. Mr Singh has denied all charges against him.
Based on circumstantial evidence and the statements of those allegedly involved in the cash-for-votes scam, the Delhi Police had said in its first chargesheet, "During investigations, sufficient evidence has come on record that after being induced by BJP MPs on the morning of July 22, 2008, Amar Singh hatched a criminal conspiracy with his secretary Sanjeev Saxena to deliver cash Rs. 1 crore as illegal gratification."
But it now appears that the evidence against him is largely circumstantial - it includes cellphone records that show Mr Saxena was in close contact with Amar Singh in the hours before the trust vote. There's also the fact that the car which delivered the money to the BJP MPs belonged to a company owned by Amar Singh.