The Gujarat CID (Crime) has moved a local court seeking to collect the DNA samples of arrested IAS officer Pradeep Sharma. It fears that the suspended officer accused in land scams might flee to a foreign country on a fake passport while on bail and change his appearance with the help of plastic surgery. His wife is settled in the US. Investigating officer K G Gajipara said the DNA samples would ensure they had permanent record of his identity. The CID filed the plea before the chief judicial magistrate on Tuesday,and the hearing has been slated for June 18. This is for the first time in Gujarat that an investigating agency has sought DNA samples of any accused in a corruption case. The Special Investigating Team (SIT) probing Godhra riots cases has recently recorded Sharmas statement after he claimed to have received a call from the Chief Ministers Office during the 2002 riots,asking him to tell his IPS officer brother Kuldeep Sharma not to take proactive steps in favour of minorities. The forensic report of his cellphones and laptop has revealed Sharma is planning to shift outside India. In an internet conversation with his wife in the US,Sharma has also mentioned about his passport being under the process, said a CID officer,adding: Sharma is already holding a passport. We suspect the way he had made a fake driving licence,he might be in the process of getting a fake passport too. CID officials also believe that in case he gets bail,Sharma may fly abroad and change his appearance through plastic surgery. In case he goes for plastic surgery,we can send the authorities concerned his DNA samples and prove his identity, said an official. The CID added that Sharma,during the bail granted to him for a brief period in the end of 2010,had prepared sale deed documents for his property in Ahmedabad. Sharma owns a spacious apartment worth Rs 2 crore in Satellite area. The process of getting new passport and sale deed documents indicate that he has been preparing to flee the moment he gets bail, said a CID official. Sharma,who was posted as the district collector of Kutch from 2003 to 2007,has been accused of committing irregularities in four rehabilitation schemes undertaken after the 2001 earthquake in the state. Besides,he has been facing a case of holding fake licence,which he allegedly used to get a room in a Delhi hotel while on bail.
