Saji got Rs 30L for releasing drug accused

(IPS officer Saji Mohan being taken to the court)

Mateen Hafeez I TNN
Mumbai: Arrested IPS officer Saji Mohan is learnt to have told the police that he has earned Rs 30 lakh by releasing people caught in connection with narcotics cases in Jammu and Chandigarh.

Mohan, arrested late last month, faces several charges under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. The police have so far recovered 38.8 kg of heroin allegedly procured by him to sell in the market.

Mohan is suspected to have stolen 50 kg of heroin from the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in Chandigarh during his tenure as zonal director.

A senior ATS official said Mohan revealed that he earned Rs 30 lakh by releasing people caught with drugs in Chandigarh and other places in north India. “We will send the report to the Chandigarh NCB. Several people from Mohan’s department have come and questioned him as well,’’ the official added.

The ATS has obtained Mohan’s laptop and is busy retrieving details of his three mobile cards. “We have recorded his conversation about pushing drugs and selling it in the market while he was talking to another accused, Vicky Oberoi,’’ said the officer.

Oberoi told the police that he knew several Bollywood personalities. However, their link, if any, had not yet been established in the case.

There were rumours about Mohan telling the police that he gave money to get a posting in the Enforcement Directorate (ED). However, ATS additional commissioner Param Bir Singh said, “He has not told us any such thing. We are focusing on only the drug case.’’

A senior ED official said, “It is unlikely considering that the Kochi deputy director’s post is not a sought-after one.’’

Sources indicated that the Chandigarh NCB superintendent, Balwinder Singh, who was being questioned by the ATS, could be questioned by the Chandigarh police in connection with a Rs 13-lakh embezzlement case. The money was to be deposited in a government account, but Mohan put it in his personal account.

Rajesh Kumar, a Haryana constable and another accused, was reinstated after Mohan intervened in his case. Kumar was suspended following a corruption case. The ATS has got a list of 19 people and is verifying their roles.

The Times of India, February 3, 2009