File photo of Censor Board chief Rakesh Kumar
A special CBI court in Mumbai on Friday extended the custody of Censor Board CEO Rakesh Kumar, arrested by the CBI on bribery charges. Mr Kumar will be in agency's custody till August 28.
The CBI told the court that it has recovered papers of six flats from Mr Kumar's locker along with 2 kg of gold and diamond jewellery worth Rs 65 lakh during its investigation. The agency argued that it needed Mr Kumar's custody to probe how he amassed this wealth.
"The documents and gold found are all true. But tax returns have been filed on all the gold found. The gold was bought in 2010 and we have documents and receipts with us. The payment was made by cheque. There were no cash payments and his mother sold all her land and sent a pay order to his account with which the gold was bought. Some of the gold was bought before 2010 which was personal property and reflected in his tax returns," Mr Kumar's lawyer Mahesh Vaswani said.
When questioned about allegations that Mr Kumar took a laptop and iPad to clear a Tamil film, Mr Vaswani said, "From what I know, all of this is not true. He has not taken any laptop. I have spoken to my client and he said that he has not taken any laptop or iPad. Laptops and iPads are electronic gadgets which can be traced and you can find out easily where it was purchased and by whom."
Mr Kumar was arrested earlier this week for allegedly demanding Rs.70,000 from an agent to clear a regional film. He was questioned by the CBI and the investigators found enough prima facie evidence to suggest he had demanded the bribe, sources said. The CBI had last week arrested an agent and advisory panel member in connection with the case.
An Indian Railways Personnel Officer (IRPS), Mr Kumar joined as CEO of Central Board of Film Certification in January this year.