The Special Investigation Team probing the stamp paper racket on Monday filed a supplementary charge sheet against nine accused, including Telugu Desam Party legislator C Krishna Yadav and Assistant Commissioner of Police Gokul B Patil, in a Pune court.
The Stamp Scam: The Complete Coverage
It was the second supplementary charge sheet to be filed under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act.
Among other things, they were charged with conspiracy, and aiding and abetting an organised crime syndicate.
The accused were present in the court when the charge sheet was filed.
One important aspect of the charge sheet was that the SIT had used the scientific methods of investigation.
Yadav was subjected to a polygraph test and P-300 Brain Fingerprinting Test, which had yielded fruitful results, according to the SIT.
The SIT informed the court that so far 49 witnesses had given their statements under section 164 CrPC before the concerned courts and confessions of 15 accused under section 18 of MCOCA had been recorded.
The first charge sheet was filed against prime accused Abdul Karim Telgi and 32 others on March 27, 2003.
After the original charge sheet, the SIT filed its first supplementary charge sheet on September 15, 2003, against 16 accused, including Samajwadi Janata Party legislator Anil Gote and 15 others.
While filing the charge sheet on Monday, the SIT told the court that it was using the scientific tests to get leads regarding "political patronage" to the syndicate.
It said it had conducted narco-analysis test on Telgi and the results were expected soon.
Presenting the salient features of the case, the SIT said it was trying to scrutinise all documentary as well as oral evidence dispassionately.
All the aspects of investigation, legal provisions, evidential values leading to logical conclusion of the case had been considered, the SIT said.
The SIT said it was cooperating with investigative agencies in Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala and Gujarat to unravel the scam.
