Law board chief caught taking bribe

Andhra seeks CBI probe against Karnataka minister's mining firmActing chairman of the Company Law Board R. Vasudevan has been arrested for accepting a bribe of Rs 7 lakh to favour one of the two feuding factions of a media house, said the CBI on Tuesday.

Vasudevan was caught at home in Safdarjung Extension while accepting money from Manoj Banthia, a company secretary at the media house Amar Ujala, said a CBI official.

The CBI said it was now looking for Ankur Chawla, a lawyer who was arranging the deal.

“Chawla represents one group and had arranged Rs 10 lakh that was to be delivered to Vasudevan for passing the verdict in favour of one faction,” said the official.

“We’ve recovered a file relating to the case from Chawla’s house in Defence Colony in south Delhi,” the official said.

This establishes his links with the case,” he added.

Chawla told PTI he would cooperate in the investigation. “As I have been out of India since yesterday, I have no idea about (the case),” he told the news agency. “I will fully cooperate with all the agencies in case they want my assistance to find out the truth because I have nothing to hide.”

Vasudevan, a member of the CLB, which looks into commercial disputes, has been acting chairman since November 2. “We have registered a case against the three under the Prevention of Corruption Act,” said a senior CBI official.

The CBI officer said the case related to a dispute between two factions of the Amar Ujala group. Atul Maheshwari, managing director of Amar Ujala group, said he had no connection with the case. “The case is at such a stage that it would not be proper to comment without knowing the full facts,” he said.