Date:10/07/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2004/07/10/stories/2004071010620500.htm

Tamil Nadu

2 more police officers questioned

By K.T.Sangameswaran

CHENNAI, JULY 9. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which arrested on July 1 a Tamil Nadu Deputy Inspector-General of Police, an Assistant Commissioner of Police and a Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) official of Madurai in the "fake stamp paper scam", has questioned two Superintendents of Police in the last few days.

One of them was examined yesterday and the other a few days ago.

Both officers earlier worked in the Crime Branch Criminal Investigation Department (CB CID) and they were asked what they knew about the case.

Some more police officers will be questioned soon and their statements recorded, sources told The Hindu .

The CBI arrested A.P.Mohamed Ali, DIG, who was working with the CB CID, and S.Sankar, Assistant Commissioner, and R.Sadhu, an LIC Administrative Officer.

The sources say the investigating agency will probe whether any stamp vendor other than the two Anna Nagar agencies, which figure in the case, played a role in the illegal transaction.

According to the CBI, the CB CID, which probed the matter in 2002, seized stamp papers with a face value of Rs.3,750 from one Balaji.

The agency, where Balaji (who was subsequently arrested) was operating accounts, sold stamp papers with a face value of about Rs. 2 crores to the LIC.

Going by the face value of the stamps seized, the CBI suspects that the stamp papers found their way into the hands of some more vendors, who could provide clues.

Registration department officials to be quizzed

The sources say that enquiries were conducted with some of those who sell stamp papers soon after the investigation was taken over by the Central agency.

The process is likely to continue to tap more information. The investigators are also expected to make enquiries with registration department officials and top government officers.