The handing over of the probe into the single-digit lottery scam to the Central Bureau of Investigation has ruffled many feathers in the State Police Department, as many top-ranking officers, apart from the now-suspended IGP-rank officer Alok Kumar, were in touch with the accused Pari Rajan. Sources confirmed that there was intense lobbying in the department to prevent the case from being handed over to the CBI, but to no avail.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which was probing the case, had till date only questioned Mr. Alok Kumar and exercised discretion regarding other officers who were called repeatedly by Rajan. The list includes two retired commissioners of Bengaluru, an ADGP-rank officer and three IGP-rank officers. All these officers, who are neither named in the CID’s interim report nor questioned by the agency, are likely to be questioned if the CBI takes over the probe.
Mr. Alok Kumar was in constant touch with Rajan — they had spoken more than 150 times on the phone — and had also made two calls to a sub-inspector to try to prevent the latter’s arrest. This made the officer the centre of focus in the case. Evidence has now surfaced of monetary transactions between Mr. Alok Kumar and Rajan in multiple real estate deals.
Probe into lottery networkThough, focus now has been on the links of top-ranking police officials with Rajan, the CBI, if it accepts the case, would have to probe the extensive network of single-digit lottery in the State from 2007. Sources said the government was also of the opinion that the CBI would be better placed to probe the pan-south India nexus of single-digit lottery with the possibility of highly placed politically influential individuals running the trade.
