CID quizzes suspended Bengaluru cop on lottery scam

CID sleuths on Sunday interrogated suspended Bengaluru additional commissioner of police Alok Kumar on his alleged nexus with lottery scam kingpin Peri Rajan.

"A team of four officers interrogated Kumar for over seven hours since afternoon on his meetings and conversations with Rajan on the basis of mobile and landline call records in connection with the illegal single digit lottery scheme in the state," a CID official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told IANS.

As the interrogation will continue on Monday, the official declined to share more details but said the role of other serving and retired police officers who figure in the CID report would be investigated.

An IPS officer of 1994 batch, Kumar's name figured two-three times along with that of five other high-ranking police officers in the report on the multi-crore lottery scam, thriving across Karnataka despite an official ban, as such schemes were operative in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

The state home ministry ordered a CID probe into the scam after a Kannada news channel telecast in April a sting operation on Rajan who boasted connections with top police officials and that "the law dare not touch him".

Though the CID sleuths took Rajan into police custody at Bangarpet in Kolar, his arrest was not made public.

Earlier, Superintendent of Police, Lottery Squad, Dharanesh was suspended earlier this month, as he was heard talking to Rajan in the sting operation's video clip.

In addition, names of a serving additional director general of police and inspector general of police, and retired director general of police Shankar Bidari and another ADGP figure in the CID report.

"Kumar has been accused of interfering with the CID probe into the lottery scam and attempting to prevent Rajan's arrest by calling up the jurisdictional sub inspector at Bangarpet on April 28," the official said quoting from the interim report.

Kumar, however, told the probe team that though he knew Rajan as a friend and a well-wisher, he was not aware of the latter's illegal activities such as operating the lottery scheme of other states in Karnataka despite the ban.

"I was introduced to Rajan four-five years ago and has been meeting me now and then. But I never knew he was into such activities," h said in his defence.

Bidari too denied knowing Rajan and refuted charges levelled by Janata Dal-Secular lawmaker and former chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy of involvement in the scam.