The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Charge sheet not filed in fake stamp paper case yet

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, May 01, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Charge sheet not filed in fake stamp paper case yet

K.T. Sangameswaran

Prosecution says case is under finalisation The case assumed a more serious dimension when the prosecution said that "lakhs and lakhs" were given to Tamil Nadu police officers.

CHENNAI: : Seven months have elapsed after three accused in the multi-crore "fake stamp paper scam" in Tamil Nadu were enlarged on bail; but the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is investigating the case, is yet to file the charge sheet.

In fact, the accused were released on bail after the investigating agency failed to submit the charge sheet in the case to the court within the legally allowed timeframe.

Prosecution sources said that the case is under finalisation. When the charge sheet is filed, documents relating to the sanction received from the State and the Central Governments, wherever required, to prosecute the accused should also be submitted.

Initially, A.P. Mohamed Ali, Deputy Inspector-General (DIG) of Police, Crime Branch Criminal Investigation Department, a city Assistant Commissioner (AC) of Police, S. Sankar and an Administrative Officer of the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), R. Sadhu were arrested on July 1, 2004. Later, Kennedy (35) of Karnataka, who was earlier residing in Chennai, was arrested. The sources said that as regards Mr. Ali, the Union Government's sanction was necessary to prosecute him, he being an IPS officer. Similarly, the State Government's sanction was necessary for prosecuting the Assistant Commissioner.

At one stage, it was said that as the alleged crime was linked to Telgi and cases had been registered against him elsewhere in the country, it remained to be seen as to how the case registered here would be dealt with.

On September 30 last year, the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Egmore, had ordered the release on bail of the DIG, AC and the LIC officer as the charge sheet was not filed by the investigating agency before the 90-day time limit after the arrest of the accused.

The bail conditions were relaxed later.

Besides the arrest of police officers, the case assumed a more serious dimension when the prosecution while opposing the bail applications of the accused had said that "lakhs and lakhs" were given to Tamil Nadu police officers. Also, the agency had in its possession the tape-recorded conversation of the prime accused, Telgi, and his confessional statement.

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