ED gets 7-day custody of journalist Upendra Rai

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Saturday granted the Enforcement Directorate seven days custody of journalist Upendra Rai in a money laundering case related to alleged extortion and dubious financial transactions.

Metropolitan Magistrate Dharmender Singh granted the remand to the ED, which had sought his custody for 14 days to question him about the alleged wrongdoings.

Special Public Prosecutors N K Matta and Nitesh Rana, appearing for the ED, told the court that the accused was extorting money from various persons citing he had information against them as he was a journalist. A huge amount involving thousands of crores of rupees was extorted, they alleged. Rai was arrested under the PMLA at the Tihar jail here on Friday evening, moments after he secured bail in CBI case related to the current matter.

In the application moved through advocate A R Aditya, the agency said that a number of documents, both in hard copies as well as in pen drives, have been recovered and Rai was required to be confronted with them. The agency told the court that Rai frequently travelled abroad to park his illgotten money and his custodial interrogation was required to unearth the larger conspiracy.