New Delhi:
Sohail Hindustani has become the second person to be arrested in the cash-for-votes scam.
Mr Hindustani was allegedly the middleman who offered three BJP MPs a crore to support the Prime Minister during a trust vote in July 2008.
Mr Hindustani was questioned by the police for six hours before he was arrested; sources say he told the Delhi Police that he was acting on behalf of politician Amar Singh. In 2008, Mr Singh was a senior leader of the Samajwadi Party (SP) which was an ally of the UPA coalition at the Centre.
Hindustani arrived at the Crime Branch office in Chanakyapuri on Wednesday morning along with some supporters who garlanded him. He was carrying a bouquet which he claimed was for a senior police official quizzing him to express his "profound" gratitude to the force for going ahead with the probe.
The cash for votes scam exploded hours ahead of the trust vote on July 22, 2008 when three MPs - Ashok Argal, Faggan Singh Kulaste and Mahavir Bhagora - walked into the Lok Sabha waving bundles of cash.
Last week, the Supreme Court criticised the Delhi Police for not making any progress in its inquiry to determine who wanted to buy the support of BJP MPs.
Over the weekend, the police arrested Sanjeev Saxena, who was allegedly an aide of Mr Singh's. He is reportedly caught on hidden camera offering money to the MPs. The cameras were provided by a private TV channel which had been asked, reportedly by the BJP, to conduct an expose on the UPA's attempts to bribe MPs for the trust vote.
The Delhi Police has also begun the process to question Mr Singh.