While there has been a rare show of cooperation between the various agencies — the CBI, I-T department and the ED — the latest round of arrests suggest that arms dealers like Suresh Nanda are still desperately manipulating the system and bribing key officials to obstruct investigation.

ENS adds from Mumbai: The CBI was granted transit remand of two days to take Suresh Nanda, son Sanjeev, Verma and Shah to New Delhi and seek custodial remand there. They were booked for criminal conspiracy, causing disappearance of evidence and criminal misconduct by a public servant.

All four accused were produced by the CBI before Mumbai additional sessions judge C H Mali.

“Verma was holidaying in Goa with his wife till two days ago. Suddenly, he left her there and came to Mumbai where he was arrested while meeting Nanda in his hotel room. There was no reason whatsoever for Verma to meet the Nandas and their CA, unless they were trying to manipulate evidence. That was the crux of our application for transit remand,” senior public prosecutor, Eijaz Khan, who appeared for the CBI told The Indian Express.

In his plea, Verma’s lawyer Kanishk Jain said his client had come to Mumbai to meet a relative and that he could not be booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

“My client had come to Mumbai with the intention of meeting a relative. He has already submitted a report against Suresh Nanda to his superiors in 2007. What could the Nandas achieve by meeting him now? Moreover, the relationship between an I-T officer and a citizen is not similar to the one between a judge and an accused. It is very cordial. A businessman of Nanda’s stature would definitely not meet anyone for a cup of tea at a small restaurant. It would be normal for him to meet people at a five star hotel,” Jain told The Indian Express.

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