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Gujarat MP Babubhai Katara was arrested in a human trafficking case last month.
The interrogation of Rasheed, a Hyderabad-based travel agent and alleged kingpin in the human trafficking case, has opened a can of worms as names of several politicians are understood to have tumbled out during the grilling.
Hyderabad Police have, reportedly, recovered six passports after raiding Rasheed and his relative`s residences. Rasheed has been sent on judicial remand till 18th May.
According to some reports, three of these passports belong to MLAs from Andhra Pradesh's ruling Congress party and rest to legislators from other states.
Among those whose passports have been recovered are ex-TDP ministers C Krishna Yadav and T Srinivas Reddy.
Reports also indicate that Rasheed confessed in his interrogation that Yadav and Reddy's passports were used in 2002-03 for human trafficking.
"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 on Friday.
Rasheed, whose name had figured prominently during the investigations ever since the emigration scandal broke out, had surrendered before the police on Thursday. He is being interrogated by a team of Central Crime Station police.
According to sources, Rasheed has named one Rajupitti, believed to be a bookie, as the key person in the racket. He admitted that Rajupitti had allegedly introduced to him the prospective clients who were in need of forged passports and travel documents to go abroad.
Rasheed, who had allegedly approached some MPs and MLAs with offers of huge bribe to use passports of their family members, will be produced before Nampally criminal court here.
Meanwhile, the police conducted searches at Rasheed and his relative`s residences on Thursday night and recovered six passports and some other incriminating documents, they said.
"His revelations suggest the fake passport network is very wide and spread over several states. We are now concentrating on cross-checking the information that he is giving," the sources said.
Rasheed, a resident of Malakpet area, who went into hiding ever since the scandal allegedly involving Gujarat BJP MP Babubhai Katara came to light, had on Thursday claimed that he was facing a threat to his life from some politicians.
His name had cropped up during the investigations into the Katara case and later in cases involving procuring fake passports for some TRS leaders.
TRS legislator K Lingaiah is already in police custody for his alleged role in the scam while police booked a case against another MLA from the regional party S Bapurao.
Based on information provided by Rasheed, the police took into custody a former TDP corporator Muzaffar Ali and was interrogating him.
The police also recovered from Muzaffar the photostat copies of passports and other documents pertaining to family members of rebel TRS legislators Lingaiah and Bapurao.
Rasheed was understood to have told the interrogators that he and another person, identified as Shakeel, had worked for Rajupitti and their brief was to forge passports and travel documents to facilitate sending people abroad through illegal route.
During the raids conducted at Rasheed`s house at Malakpet here, the police recovered letterheads of some MPs and MLAs, the sources said.
Meanwhile, police sources said a team of Delhi Police was likely to come here to interrogate Rasheed since his name figured in the Babubhai Katara case. - DDNews India
Posted May 5th, 2007 by Armen Hareyan
