New Delhi, November 3: Delhi's Patiala House Court on Saturday rejected the bail plea of Manoj Prasad, an accused middleman in the bribery scandal involving CBI Special Director Rakesh Asthana. With the petition being set aside, Prasad's judicial custody will continue.

The accused was arrested on October 16, a day after the CBI registered a case against him, along with Asthana and DSP Devender Kumar. Prasad, the son of former R&AW chief  Dineshwar Prasad, is charged of pressurising Hyderabad-based businessman Satish Sana to pay Rs 5 crore in lieu of being cleared in the case linked to controversial meat exporter Moin Qureshi. Suspended CBI DSP Devender Kumar Gets Bail.

Sana, in his complaint before the premier agency, said Prasad, along with his Dubai-based brother Somesh, sought a bribe on behalf of Asthana to clear him from all the charges. A part of the bribe was also paid by him, the complaint states.

In his bail application, Manoj Prasad said he was not required for the custodial interrogation and no purpose will be served by keeping him in further custody.

The CBI's counsel, however, opposed the plea, claiming that Prasad is an "influential person" who could tamper with evidence is released.

The denial of interim relief to Prasad comes three days after the court granted bail to his co-accused DSP Devender Kumar, as the agency did not oppose his bail petition.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 03, 2018 05:27 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).