CBI seeks voice samples of DSP Balbir Singh, files plea before court 

Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed an application before a court for issuing directions to its DSP, Balbir Singh, for providing a specimen of his voice. The CBI has arrested Balbir in an alleged scholarship scam in Himachal Pradesh which he was investigating.

The CBI claimed that the accused had mediated a meeting in Hotel Lalit on December 14 and negotiated a bribe of Rs 55 lakh. He had further facilitated the delivery of the amount near Aerocity Road, Zirakpur, to the other accused persons in the case. There are two incriminating recordings of his telephonic conversations with the complainant just prior to the delivery of the bribe.

The CBI said that during the trap proceedings, the voices of the accused persons were recorded.  To establish the identity of the voices in these recordings, the specimen voice recordings were required.

The CBI said that the accused had been informed of the requirements to for the purpose of a fair investigation. However, the accused had intentionally refused to provide the specimen. The CBI said that the Supreme Court of India, also held that directing an accused to give a specimen of their voice did not violate fundamental rights under Article 20 (3) of the Constitution of India.

PK Dogra and Vinod Sharma, counsels of the accused, however, denied the allegations.  They said that the DSP had filed a chargesheet against the complainant in the scholarship scam investigation and that he had been falsely implicated in the case. Balbir and Vishal Deep were produced before the court on Wednesday which sent them to   judicial custody until February 3.

The CBI has registered an FIR against Vishal Deep, former assistant director, Shimla, on complaints of the directors of two educational institutions on December 22 under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The CBI had earlier also moved an application for seeking the voice sample of Vishal Deep and another accused in the case