DCP Sawant held in stamp paper scam

In yet another senior Mumbai police official getting ensnared in the fake stamp paper scam, deputy commissioner of police Pradeep Sawant was on Wednesday night arrested under a stringent law of Maharashtra against organized crime for allegedly shielding the prime accused Abdul Karim Telgi.

The arrest of Sawant, DCP special branch, followed his over two-hour interrogation by the Special Investigating Team at its Worli office on Wednesday evening, SIT sources said.

Sawant would be produced before a special court on Thursday for remand, the sources said. Sawant is facing the allegation of going soft on Telgi when the latter was in custody of Mumbai police during November 2003 to January 2003 for 85 days.

At that time, he was the deputy commissioner of police, crime branch, Mumbai.

During the same period, Telgi was taken by the police to places such as Goa and Hyderabad allegedly for pleasure and business transactions allegedly with secret funds of police department, SIT sources said.

These funds could only be used with the sanction of an officer of the rank of the deputy commissioner of police, crime branch.