BOMBAY (PTI) Disgraced Indian stock broker “Big Bull’ Harshad Mehta was Friday further remanded to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) custody for 14 days till July 16 by designated special judge Mr Justice S N Vaniava.

The order follows a submission by CBI special public prosecutor, PR Nam Joshi that several foreign accounts of the broker had been traced and his accomplices and associates overseas identified.

However, the judge ordered the release of junior state bank of India  officer R Sitaraman on conditional bail as no case had been made by CBI ‘on cogent grounds’ to justify further custody.

The judge observed that even at this prima facie stage, Harshad Mehta ‘appeared to be the person mainly responsible for the large scale subversion of the banking system’. Mehta was also ‘no doubt a very influential person having connections at the very highest level’, the judge noted.

Harshad Mehta and Sitaraman completed almost a month in custody since they were arrested on June four and twice remanded to CBI custody, initially till June 19 and later till today (Friday).

Earlier, the CBI special prosecutor sought jail custody instead of police custody for a month for Harshad Mehta to screen more effectively visitors calling on the accused and in view of the ‘magnitude of the fraud” and its national and international ramifications. the country and go abroad in view of his foreign accounts, the CBI counsel said. But, the counsel for Harshad

Mehta, K M Desai objected that his client’s life would be in danger due to presence of various desperadoes and criminals in jail and prevalent extortion rackets there, He, therefore, prayed for only police custody in south Bombay, which the judge granted.

The CBI prosecutor said since June 22 last, 16 more firms of a Harshad Mehta had come to light and some had been searched. The direct role of Harshad’s brothers, Ashwin and Sudhir, and cousin Hiten had also surfaced’ in the” united commercial bank scam following disclosures by the bank’s officials, who are still being interrogated at Calcutta.

There was likelihood of several arrests in this connection and’ the CBI needed time to tie up” loose ends and check if UCO bank officers’ disclosures were trustworthy, he said. ,

Article extracted from this publication >> July 17, 1992