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Maharashtra
By W. Chandrakanth
Mr. Yadav was produced before the court by the Special Investigating Team (SIT) officials probing the multi-crore counterfeit stamp papers scam as his initial custody period expired today. The defence counsel's plea that further remand was unnecessary as no new evidence had come up against him was turned down by the judge. The only consolation for Mr. Yadav was that the judge also did not agree to the plea of the public prosecutor, Avadoot Chimalkar, that police remand was necessary for two more weeks. Mr. Yadav was produced in the court at 2.50 p.m. today amidst tight security. Police had a tough time keeping a large gathering of his followers and mediapersons at bay. The SIT argument was based on the connection of Abdul Wahid, an agent of the mastermind behind the scam, Abdul Kareem Telgi, and Mr. Yadav. The public prosecutor contended that Mr. Yadav's remand extension was necessary because the investigation at Hyderabad had revealed a transfer of Rs. 50 lakhs from Wahid to Mr. Yadav whereas the former Minister was not cooperating with the police. The SIT is also trying to establish the links of Wahid with Mr. Yadav who was running two firms at Hyderabad. One bank account of Wahid was accessed. He said, the bank accounts also established the transaction between Wahid and Mr. Yadav. Further, the Chennai connection was thrown up in the recent investigation and the Tamil Nadu angle might throw more light on the links of Wahid. The revelation of the Chennai connection further complicates the probe. So far, the southern corridor of the Telgi counterfeit business was confined to Maharashtra, A.P. and Karnataka, it was believed. The argument that the SIT would need Mr. Yadav's custody further to explore all these angles clinched the issue in its favour. Mr. Yadav is the second MLA to be booked under MCOCA (Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act ) in the Rs. 32,000-crore counterfeit stamp paper scam. A Maharashtra MLA, Anil Ghote of Dhule, belonging to the Samajwadi Party, was the first legislator to be booked under the provisions. Mr. Yadav is the 54th accused in the scam and only five remain to be chargesheeted. Mr. Yadav and an inspector of Mumbai Crime branch, Dattatrei Dhal, are among them. Mr. Yadav was picked up in Hyderabad on September 6 and brought to Pune. The SIT officials plan to take him to Hyderabad for further probe. It is not known whether the police were unaware of the Tamil Nadu connection earlier though it is said that the operations of Telgi have taken place in at least nine States. The SIT plan of filing the chargesheet by October 15 could go astray with his new link. Wahid operated four firms — Bharat, Sahara, Manila and Ananta Tiruchi Enterprises to run his counterfeit business. Venkateswara and Surya Teja were the names of his front offices in Hyderabad. It is also claimed that Mr. Yadav took away Rs. 50 lakh worth counterfeit stamps from Wahid four years ago. Telgi expanded his business by appointing agents in all districts. His operations were looked after by Wahid who was his principal agent for South India. The SIT is also seeking to establish the links of Mr. Yadav with those of the agents who were operating in other districts of Andhra Pradesh.
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