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New Delhi, Sep 20 (IANS) A Delhi court has granted bail to various employees of Bhushan Power and Steel Limited (BPSL) in a money laundering case against them.
Special CBI Judge Arun Bhardwaj noted that "ends of justice require that all the accused be granted bail subject to their furnishing personal bonds and surety bonds for a sum of Rs 1 lakh each."
As far as flight risk was concerned, the bench noted that all the passports are with the court and directions have been given to the accused not to leave the country without permission of the court.
"Regarding the apprehension of influencing the witnesses, it is only an apprehension without there being any concrete material for giving serious consideration to this apprehension. Moreover, law enforcing agencies are always at liberty to take steps in the event of any such development coming to their notice, in accordance with law," the court said.
The court has granted bail to all accused including BPSL director Ravi Prakash Goyal, the firm's company secretary R.K. Gupta, BPSL Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Arun Kumar Aggarwal and Alkesh Sharma, President (Accounts & Finance) of BPSL, stationed at Kolkata.
All the said accused persons were represented by advocate Vijay Aggarwal.
While passing the orders, the court noted that investigations qua the accused are complete and complaint has been filed and main accused Sanjay Singhal is already out on bail.
"No useful purpose would be achieved by sending the accused to judicial custody as no recovery has to be got effected from them...There is no reason shown on record that they are likely to influence the witnesses or tamper with the evidence," the court noted.
The ED, in its first chargesheet in the matter, stated that Sanjay Singhal is the "mastermind" behind the diversion of loan funds.
The court had taken cognisance on a chargesheet, which named 24 persons and the company as accused. According to the economic offences watchdog, the company and its directors had deliberately defaulted in repayment of the loan amount to lender banks as per the time scheduled and their accounts remained continuously irregular.
ED said that these proceeds of crime were laundered by the way of infusion in the form of equity in BPSL, creation of assets in the name of self or his family members directly or indirectly. Singhal was arrested by the ED on November 22 last year in connection with a money laundering case pertaining to an alleged bank loan fraud.
--IANS
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