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Paper leak case: Lt. Col. Bedi’s police custody extended until May 28
The police custody of lieutenant colonel-rank officer arrested by Pune police from Secunderabad in Army recruitment question paper leak case was extended by a court in Pune on Tuesday
The police custody of lieutenant colonel-rank officer arrested by Pune police from Secunderabad in Army recruitment question paper leak case was extended by a court in Pune on Tuesday.
The remand of Lt Col Bhagat Preetsingh Sartajsingh Bedi (44) was extended until May 28 by additional sessions Judge AY Thatte on Tuesday.
“He was presiding over the committee that was overlooking the exam procedure. The question paper was of 50 questions. He saw the paper, wrote the 50 questions by hand on a paper, and sent a photo of those hand-written questions to the earlier arrested person,” said public prosecutor Premkumar Agarwal.
A source close to the investigation revealed that the two may have destroyed both their phones used for the transactions after the police raids.
“They have consented to extended custody so there was no argument from our side. They are co-operating with the investigation,” said defence advocate Sudhir Shah.
Lt Col Bedi had allegedly sent the questions to a storekeeper from Delhi Cantonment, Vira Prasad Kotiswamy Narnepati (41), who was arrested on May 15. Narnepati’s police custody remand was also extended until May 28 by the same court on Monday.
Narnepati revealed that the officer had sent him the paper, according to Laxman Borate, assistant commissioner of police (ACP), crime, Pune police.
The police have recovered a blue coloured phone from Narnepati. However, the recovered phone is not the one he used to send the paper to one among the two other people wanted in the case. The person who received it from Narnepati had sent it to the second person wanted in the case.
Narnepati had allegedly recived ₹7,00,000 and had paid ₹3,00,000 from it to Lt Col Bedi for the paper and returned ₹4,00,000 to the two others wanted in the case, according to ACP Borate.
When the case came to light, the nation-wide recruitment exam was cancelled hours before it was held.
“He paid ₹3,00,000 to the Lt Col for receiving the paper but once the police raids were done and exam was cancelled, he sent the remaining money back. All these transactions were in cash,” said ACP Borate.
Two separate offences were registered in the matter and a total of 12 arrests have been made so far in the case and after February 28 when the exam was supposed to be held at 40 centres with 30,000 aspirants.
One case in the matter is registered under Sections 406, 420, 120(b), and 34 of Indian Penal Code, Sections 6 and 7 of Maharashtra Prevention of Malpractices at University Board and Other Specified Examination Act, 1982; Sections 7, 12, and 13 of Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 (2018 Amendment) and Section 66(c) of Information Technology Act at Vishrantwadi police staiton.
Another case in the matter is registered under Sections 420, 409, 34 of Indian Penal Code, Sections 6 and 7 of Maharashtra Prevention of Malpractices at University Board and Other Specified Examination Act, 1982; Sections 7, 12, and 13 of Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 (2018 Amendment) and Section 66(c) of Information Technology Act at Wanowrie police station.
So far, the arrest of one person in both the cases has confirmed any link between the two cases.
Two major rank officers, Thiru Murugan Thangavelu (47) and Vasant Vijay Kilari (45), were arrested earlier in the Wanowrie case. The others arrested in the case include Kishore Mahadev Giri (40), Malegaon in Baramati; Madhav Sheshrao Gitte (38) a resident of Sappers vihar colony in Pune; another accused called Bharat Lakshman Adakmol (37) from Pachora, Pune; Gopal Yuvraj Koli (31) a resident of BEG Center in Dighi; and Uday Dattu Auti (23) a resident of BEG Khadki. The ones arrested in Vishrantwadi were identified as Ali Akhtar Khan (47), Azad Lalmohammed Khan (37) and Mahendra Chandrabhan (37).
