Mumbai, December 2
Mr Ranjit Singh Sharma, a former Mumbai Police Commissioner, was remanded in police custody till December 9 by a Pune court today.
Public prosecutors said Mr Sharma needed to be questioned further for his links with forger Abdul Karim Telgi. Mr Sharma was arrested by a special investigating team on Monday. Meanwhile, the police here said Mr Sharma’s official residence was raided by the team through Monday night and documents and computers were seized.
The chargesheet against Mr Sharma has accused him of not taking appropriate action against those involved with prime accused Abdul Karim Telgi in the scam.
The chargesheet goes on to say that he did not act against junior officers even when instances of improper conduct in the investigations against Telgi were brought to his notice. He is now accused of “dereliction of duty, poor professional response and failure to personally intervene.”
Mr Sharma has been arrested under the tough Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act, under which bail is not easily given to an accused. So far investigators are tightlipped about the evidence found against the former Police Commissioner.
Meanwhile, investigators have discovered at least two flats owned by Prasun Agarwal, alias Abhay Bansal, on whose premises a television team discovered counterfeit cash and postal stamps belonging to different countries.
After being caught on the wrong foot following the television expose, the Maharashtra Police questioned Agarwal through Monday evening, during which he revealed another house in Panvel, between Mumbai and Pune, the police here said.
A police party then raided the house and two flats close to Monday midnight and discovered several hundred boxes and bags of currency and postage stamps belonging to different countries. So far, the police has seized currency and postage stamps belonging to Zambia, the Netherlands, Bangladesh, Czechoslovakia, Argentina, Pakistan and Slovenia, sources say.
ACP arrested:
Another top-ranking police officer was tonight taken into custody for alleged lapses in the fake stamp paper case probe.
Assistant Commissioner of Police R.B. Yenam of the Navi Mumbai police commissionerate was taken into custody here for allegedly shielding the crime syndicate of prime accused Abdul Karim Telgi.
He will be produced before a court tomorrow for remand.
Altogether seven cases have been registered against the Telgi syndicate in the city. ACP Yenam is allegedly involved in one of the cases.
— PTI
