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Court irked by CBI's failure to record statement in RAW case

A Delhi court expressed its displeasure over the CBI's failure to record the statement of a Chennai-based manufacturer against a senior RAW officer.

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A Delhi court on Thursday expressed its displeasure over the CBI's failure to record the statement of a Chennai-based manufacturer against senior RAW officer AS Narayan Rao, who was arrested for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs one lakh from him.

"Why did you not record the final statement of the complainant," special judge P K Saxena asked. "You are filing an application for sending the accused to custody. But it is not attached with the final statement of the Chennai-based manufacturer," the judge said.

The court, however, stopped short of issuing any direction to the probe agency when the CBI's officer submitted that the final statement would be filed with the appointment of regular Investigating Officer in the case.
    
It later sent Rao, who was arrested on February 2, to judicial custody till September 19 on the CBI's plea that the investigation in the matter was still going on.

The probe agency also submitted before the court that raids were conducted at the office premises of Roa, who was a director in the technical wing of the external intelligence gathering agency.
    
Rao, who was produced before the court after three days of custodial interrogation, alleged implication by the Chennai-based manufacturer after it failed to get a licence for exporting goods.

When the court pointed towards his alleged tape-recorded conversations with the executives of the firm, the RAW officer again submitted that it was all friendly discussions.

He alleged that the money was forcibly kept in his pocket by the sleuths of the probe agency.
    
The accused sought leniency from the court on the ground that he was suffering from several ailments and that only one year of his service in RAW was left.

"It is due to my poor health, I was not given posting abroad. If I had good health, I would by now have become a joint secretary in the RAW," he submitted before the court.
    
Rao, working as a scientist in the technical division of RAW, was arrested by CBI from a hotel in Karol Bagh on February 2 when he was allegedly taking Rs one lakh from the manufacturer.
    
The accused, PhD in Physics, is one of the members of working committee of the inter-ministerial group formed to grant export licenses to companies dealing in sensitive items.

He had demanded Rs eight lakh as bribe for clearing the export licence of the Chennai-based firm, which had procured an export contract worth Rs 4.5 crore, the CBI alleged.

The company had filed a complaint against him with the CBI on January 29.
    
Rao has been booked under various provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act dealing with illegal gratification.

It is the first case where a serving officer of RAW has been arrested by the CBI for demanding bribe.

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