Even as a court here extended the custody of MCI president Ketan Desai and three others by three days,the CBI said it needed to interrogate Desai about a bank account in Dubai and a middleman called Paul. Desai,alleged middleman J P Singh,Sukhwinder Singh and Kanwaljit of Patiala-based Gian Sagar Medical College are facing charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act after they were held with a bribe of Rs 2 crore. The court,meanwhile,rejected the plea of one of the accused that he be provided with the transcript of the taped conversations relied upon by CBI. The accused is not entitled to the same at this stage of investigation, Judge O P Saini said. Earlier,the prosecutor claimed a person called Paul,who mediated between Desai and the private college,was yet to be arrested. The four accused,assisted by a battery of lawyers,are not forthcoming. Their thorough interrogation is required to collect evidence in this case, he told the court. Searches to collect proof against Desai were still on and the custody of Desai was required to search some locked premises,he said,adding that the accused are required to be confronted with the evidence collected so far. Opposing the CBI plea,Desais counsel Siddharth Luthra said,Custodial interrogation of his client was not required. If the CBI fails to arrest Paul,Desai cannot be kept in custody forever.
