Mumbai, January 6
The Bombay High Court has restrained the Special Investigating Team probing the multi-crore fake stamp paper scam from injecting truth serum on accused Maharashtra MLA Anil Gote to obtain information from him about his role in the racket.
Justices V.G. Palshikar and P.V. Kakade of the court admitted the petitions filed by Gote and Ramachandra Rama Reddy, who was suspended as security officer of the Indian Security Press, Nashik. The restraint on the investigators is applicable till January 27 when the court will hear the matter next.
Gote and Reddy filed the petition before the Bombay High Court challenging the orders of a special court in Pune that allowed investigators to conduct P-300 brain-finger printing, lie detector and narco-analysis tests on them. The tests involve injecting doses of chemicals into their bodies and monitoring their responses when questions are put to them.
Sayaji Nangre, lawyer for Gote and Reddy, told the court that the tests were violative of the Constitution. The petitioners contended that an accused could not be forced to become a witness against himself.
The tests have already been conducted on a number of people accused in the scam. Abdul Karim Telgi, who is accused in the racket himself has been administered with truth serum. On Monday, Special Public Prosecutor Raja Thakre had submitted before the court that investigators have obtained fresh information relating to the scam following the narco-analysis tests conducted on Abdul Karim Telgi.
Meanwhile, counsel for SIT has submitted before the special court that all known members of the gang affiliated to Telgi have been taken into custody.
The last person to be arrested was Tabrez Telgi, nephew of Abdul Karim Telgi. He is the 66th person to be arrested in the scam. He has been remanded in police custody till January 18.
