In his cross-examination, former anager of the Punjab National Bank's Naoroji Nagar branch B L Verma said: ``It is incorrect to suggest that I was threatened by CBI officials that if I fail to co-operate in fabricating thcase against the accused I would also be implicated and I would lose my job.''

The CBI has alleged that former Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao and 19 others had conspired and subsequently bribed four JMM MPs – Shibhu Soren, Simon Marandi, Shailendra Mahato and Suraj Mandal – to defeat the July 28, 1993 no-confidence motion against the Rao Government. Mahato later turned approver and was pardoned by the court. On March 19, Verma and three other PNB officials in their examination-in-chief hadprovided details about the bank accounts and money deposited by the JMM MPs on August 1, 1993, four days after the no-confidence motion was defeated. They alleged that more than Rs 1.6 crore had been deposited in the bank. They also said that four fixed deposit accounts (nos. 194, 195, 196 and 197) were opened in the names of Soren, Rupi, Hemant Kumar, Basant Kumar; Soren, Mandal, Mahato and Marandi; Mahato and A Mahato; Marandi and Sushila Hansda. A bank account (no 18194) was opened in the names of Soren, Mandal and Marandi.

Verma had earlier told the court that the accounts were opened without any Account Opening Form. He said on July 31, 1993 manager S K Sharma received a phone call from one Sushil Kumar about some deposit. Sharma, cashiers, Kumar and two other people in whose names accounts were opened came to the bank with the money at about 5 pm, said Verma. As the cash was in bulk and it wasn't possible to count it. It was kept in the safe and deposited the next day, said Verma.