Tehelka case: CBI questions Bangaru

NEW DELHI: Former BJP president Bangaru Laxman was on Wednesday questioned by the CBI in connection with the Tehelka sting operation in 2001. He was caught accepting Rs 1 lakh on camera. Laxman was called to the CBI headquarters on Wednesday where he was grilled by senior officers of the investigating agency. Sources said the former BJP president was confronted with the evidence extracted from the Tehelka tapes.Laxman arrived to face the sleuths around 4 pm. He was quizzed for a couple of hours as to whether he had accepted the money or whether there were earlier conversations connected with what was evident on the tape. Laxman, however, denied any involvement in the episode. The CBI had registered cases against Laxman and former Samata Party president Jaya Jaitly on December 7, 2004, nearly three years after Tehelka's sting operation caught corruption live on camera. The CBI booked Laxman after scrutinising the evidence handed over by the government after the scrapping of the Phukan Commission of Inquiry on October 4. Two members of his personal staff - Uma Maheshwari Raju and Satyamurthy - were charged with conspiracy under Section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 7 and 9 of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Jaitly was caught talking to the arms dealer at Fernandes' official residence. The CBI, in its FIR, alleged that she was trying to influence top officials in the defence ministry to get the fictitious company some defence deals.