Click to play videoNew Delhi: More skeletons are tumbling out of the closet in the fake passport scam case that began with the arrest of BJP MP Babubhai Katara from New Delhi airport few weeks ago.
The dramatic surrender of alleged kingpin Rashid Ali on Thursday has opened a can of worms and it’s now clear that the emigration racket is spread across party lines and cuts across state boundaries.
The Andhra Pradesh angle – which came to limelight after the names of two Telangana Rashtriya Samiti (TRS) MLAs figured in the scam – also seems to be gaining credence.
The Hyderabad Police on Thursday registered a case against another TRS MLA Soyam Bapu Rao who had pasted the photograph of another woman on her wife’s passport.
Of bookies and politicians
On Friday, the Hyderabad Police also recovered passports of seven MLAs from Rashid. Of them, three belong to Andhra Pradesh’s ruling Congress party and four are from other states.
Among those whose passports have been recovered are ex-TDP ministers C Krishna Yadav and T Srinivas Reddy. Police say Rashid confessed in his interrogation that Yadav and Reddy’s passports were allegedly used in 2002-03 to traffic people.
However, Yadav denied the allegation. "I am not involved in this and was very shocked when I heard my name on your channel,” he told CNN-IBN.
Rashid also said a Hyderabad-based cricket bookie Rajupitti was the kingpin of the racket. A resident of Chappel Bazar in Hyderabad, Rajupitti also runs a film production house called American Films.
"He has made allegations against several MPs and MLAs and former ministers across political parties. We cannot disclose their names at this juncture. We are verifying the records," police sources said.
The close involvement of TDP ex-MP Lal Jaan Basha is also being established. Shakeel - a close associate of the ex-MP - who fled the country on the night of Katara's arrest and Rashid allegedly worked closely with Rajupatti.
Shakeel contested a seat in the State Legislative council recently as an independent candidate but lost narrowly by 11 votes. Basha reportedly arranged tickets to UK for Shakeel and family when the scam was exposed.
Rashid also admitted four people illegally travelled to the US through suspended TRS MP A Narendra. Narendra received Rs 45 lakh from Rajupitti for “smuggling” the people out. His son-in-law Preetam acted as a mediator in this case and TRS President K Chandrasekhara Rao's secretary is also involved in the case.
Rashid's name had come up during interrogation into the Babubhai Katara case. Sources say Rashid had been sheltered until now by a sitting BJP MLA. From there, he reportedly sent the media documents detailing the involvement of five MLAs and 3 MPs in the fake passport racket, which led to the arrest of two Andhra MLAs.
The Hyderabad police have also summoned Muzaffar Ali Khan, an ex corporator of the TDP, for questioning. Rashid is believed to have made three calls to Muzaffar Ali Khan after he went missing.
Delhi police is expected to reach Hyderbad on Friday to seek Rashid's custody. However, Rashid claims innocence. “I have no connection with the Katara case. I received threatening calls, so I surrendered. I will say the same thing in court. The police will help me out,” he said.
Meanwhile, BJP MP Babubhai Katara and six others arrested in the human trafficking case will be produced in court on Friday. Katara was sent to judicial custody on April 30 after having been arrested at the Indira Gandhi International airport while trying to take 30-year-old Paramjeet and 14-year-old Amarjeet Singh to Toronto on the passports of his wife and son.
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