Amar faces four-hour quiz

New Delhi, July 22: Amar Singh, a Rajya Sabha MP and former Samajwadi Party leader, was today questioned by Delhi police on the alleged payoff to three BJP MPs for the July 2008 trust vote.

A senior crime branch officer said that during his four-hour questioning, Singh denied having any links with Sanjeev Saxena and Suhail Hindustani, who have been arrested in the cash-for-votes scandal.

“Amar Singh… told us that he was in no way connected with it,” the officer said.

On July 22, 2008, the three BJP MPs Ashok Argal, Faggan Singh Kulaste and Mahavir Bhagora had waved wads of cash in the Lok Sabha before the trust motion and alleged that they were offered Rs 1 crore to save the government.

The vote became necessary after the Left withdrew support to the government over the Indo-US nuclear deal.

Saxena, allegedly a former aide of Amar, told interrogators the bribe money of Rs 1 crore he passed on to the three BJP MPs had come from the former Samajwadi leader.

Hindustani, a BJP activist and alleged volunteer in the purported TV sting operation, also blamed Amar for the entire scandal.

But the police yesterday gave a clean chit to both the Congress and Samajwadi Party and told a Delhi court that Hindustani was the “master orchestrator” and key “conspirator” in the scandal.

Amar arrived at the crime branch office in his blue Mercedes around 10.50am and left at 2.50pm. He did not speak to the media.

“He may be questioned again,” a crime branch officer said. “We will submit a status report in the Supreme Court next week.”