The government on Wednesday impounded the passport of noted arms dealer Suresh Nanda, who is alleged to have received kickbacks in various defence deals.

Sources said Nanda's passport was revoked under Section 10 (3)(c) of the Indian Passport Act, which allows the government to impound, revoke or suspend anyone's passport under public interest.

Nanda, who is at present in judicial custody, is alleged to have received kickbacks in the Rs 1,150 crore Barak Missile System deal and Armoured Recovery Vehicle deal.

CBI opposes bail plea

The CBI on Wednesday opposed the bail plea of arms dealer Suresh Nanda and three others including his son, Sanjeev, in a case of manipulating evidence on alleged kickbacks received in defence deals saying "presence of all the accused in a hotel room was ample proof of conspiracy".

In separate replies to bail applications of the Nandas, their chartered accountant Bipin Shah and Income Tax deputy director (investigation) Ashutosh Verma, the probe agency told the special court that they (accused), if released on bail, may destroy the incriminating evidence.

"The investigation is at an initial stage, if the accused applicant will be released then there is every chance that they may influence the witnesses and destroy the evidence," CBI, in its replies which were filed in the court of Additional sessions Judge I K Kochar, said.

The court, taking the reply of the probe agency into records, deferred the hearing on the bail plea till March 31.

"The presence of all four accused in a hotel room in Mumbai is ample proof of the conspiracy. Otherwise there is no occasion for a public servant, who had raided the premises of the other three accused, to specially fly from Goa to Mumbai and go to a hotel under a different name to meet the other three accused," the CBI said.

It also said that the evidence collected so far indicated that accused chartered accountant Bipin Shah had approached IRS officer Ashutosh Verma on the direction of Nandas.