Delhi court extends interim bail to ministry officer

New Delhi, July 22 

CBI Special Judge Gurdeep Singh on Friday extended till August 3 the interim bail granted to senior Corporate Affairs Ministry officer B.K. Bansal, who has been arrested on charge of accepting a bribe.

The court also gave bail to a co-accused in the case and imposed certain conditions on them. 

Bansal was granted interim bail on Wednesday for the cremation of his wife Satyabala, 57, and daughter Neha, 27, who committed suicide a day earlier at their flat in Neelkanth Apartments in east Delhi's Madhu Vihar area.

Both women were upset over two CBI searches at their residence in three days since Saturday last.

Bansal, an additional secretary-ranked Director General in the Corporate Affairs Ministry, was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on bribery charge on July 16 and remanded in two-day custody by a special court on July 17.

He was accused of receiving Rs 9 lakh from Mumbai-based Elder Pharmaceuticals.

Bansal's counsel Ramesh Gupta told the court that he had to perform 'teharvin' (ceremony on the 13th day after death) and other post-cremation rites. 

He said Bansal's condition was not good as he remained admitted in a hospital till Friday morning.

Defence counsel said Bansal's wife and daughter committed suicide as they were kept in confinement and no relatives were allowed to talk to them. They were isolated, which forced them to commit suicide, he added. 

Opposing the extension of the interim bail, public prosecutor K.P. Singh said though the agency has full sympathy for Bansal, case investigation was at a crucial stage.

The court later granted interim bail to Bansal on furnishing a personal bond or a surety of Rs 50,000.

The court also granted bail to co-accused Vinod Singh, asking him to furnish a personal bond or a surety of Rs 40,000.

The court directed them to neither try to hamper investigation nor influence witnesses and not to leave the country without prior court permission.