Mumbai, June 3: The special court on Wednesday remanded Amitabh Jhunjhunwala, former Group Managing Director of Anil Ambani’s Reliance Communications, to CBI custody till June 5.
Jhunjhunwala was arrested for his alleged role in connection with a Rs 2,929.05 crore bank loan case registered on the complaint of the State Bank of India (SBI) against Reliance Communications Ltd (RCom).
Jhunjhunwala was produced before the special court on Wednesday morning, where the CBI sought his custody for five days, contending that his custodial interrogation is required to unearth the alleged criminal conspiracy and identify the ultimate beneficiaries of the loan amount, which it claimed is within his exclusive knowledge. The agency also stated that it needs to ascertain the role of any public servants allegedly involved in facilitating procurement of the loan.
CBI cites role in loan procurement
CBI prosecutors A. Limosin and Jitendra Sharma contended that Jhunjhunwala was the Group MD of RCom and was responsible for important functions such as corporate finance, banking and the utilisation of funds. The prosecution claimed that he coordinated with senior officials of the bank for loans and was allegedly instrumental in securing loans from various banks.
The CBI has claimed that Jhunjhunwala submitted a letter dated August 26, 2016, seeking a loan of Rs 1,200 crore, which was sanctioned and disbursed by SBI on August 29, 2016. According to the agency, the company failed to repay the amount and caused a loss of Rs 971.25 crore to the bank.
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Defence opposes custody plea
The plea was opposed by defence lawyer Mudit Jain, who pointed out that the chargesheet has already been filed in the case and Jhunjhunwala has not been named as an accused. He claimed that Jhunjhunwala was initially called as a witness and has now been arrested in the same case.
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