The Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigating the Telgi stamp paper scam in Maharashtra, will turn its attention to the Railway Protection Force (RPF) after the Maharashtra police and the railways agree to it.
The SIT is investigating if genuine stamp papers were stolen while in transit on trains from Central Railways Nashik Road station, which is the principal railhead for the Indian Security Press in Nashik.
A senior SIT officer said, Our mandate is the entire scam in the state of Maharashtra. This will include checking if Telgi was involved in stealing stamp papers in transit from Nashik and if RPF officials schemed with him.
First, the details of the railway stamp paper thefts have to be
ascertained.
Incidentally, a few days earlier, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials had come down to Mumbai to interrogate RPF personnel, though the RPF authorities deny the same.
We havent started our inquiries yet. We are waiting for the SIT report on the stamp paper scam, after which the Railway Board will pass judgement on RPF involvement, if any, in the scam, said M Y Siddique, director, Railway Board.
RPF Director General Dr Arvind Pandey also said his inquiry hinged on the SIT report. The SIT is the specialised agency handling the stamp scam in Maharashtra. We are waiting for them to submit any report of discrepancy on my officers part in the stamp paper scam. Only then will we begin our departmental inquiry, Dr Pandey said.
According to Dr Pandey, any inquiry into the scam by the RPF at this point of time will hinder the SITs work.
Meanwhile, a senior RPF official who served in the Bhusawal Division, which oversees the Nashik Road station, in the mid 1990s, said, Since 1996 there have been thefts of stamp papers and there were two detections as well. But who knew it about it would turn out to be something big.
The RPF connection
The Railway Protection Force (RPF) came under the scanner after stamp papers were looted from trains leaving Nashik Road.
These thefts started in 1996 and continued till 2000, during which time both the state police and mid-ranking RPF officers wrote letters to senior railway authorities urging them to look into what was potentially a big scam.
The railways, however, remained silent on the matter till the Telgi scam came to light.
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