Mumbai July 7: Chain Roop Bhansali, the prime accused in the Rs 1,200-crore divident warrant fraud was remanded to judicial custody upto July 21 on Monday by the additional chief metropolitan magistrate, Shivajirao Dhumal.Bhansali has been handed over to the economic offence wing of the city police who will produce him in the metropolitan court on Tuesday for further custody. The EoW would make a fresh remand application before the 37th metropolitan magistrate's court on Tuesday.

Senior public prosecutor of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) BS Raghuvanshi's plea for further remand of the accused was turned down by the judge. The city police has earlier moved an application for the interrogation of the accused in additional chief metropolitan magistrate court. A group of investors has filed a complaint with the economic offences wing with of the mumbai police, complaining that the CRB group had defrauded them and the amount ranges in crore. The CBI informed the court that very recently, in last week, some amounts are also traced and added that some more funds are in the ``pipeline'' and a batch of officers have pushed off to new delhi for further investigations. CBI maintained that very huge amounts are involved in the case and bogus accounts are recorded in the computer. The investigating officer Narayanan, deputy superintendent of police , banks fraud cell told the judge that they are trying to reconstruct the accounts and trace the funds.

uIt was also suggested that since there are technical problems now, the money can be kept in fixed deposits and later be used to pay the small investors.The seized amount was not connected with the funds of SBI and cannot be considered as case property in the present case, the defence advocate Indira Bhansal argued.

She also urged the court that the amount seized by the CBI should be paid to the small investors, who have filed their claims with the city police to the extent of Rs eight crore. She maintained that her client Bhansali was not involved in any offence and urged that an interim order be passed for the said money and it should be seen that it is not parted with the SBI.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.