CBI investigators who picked up Sarabjot Singh,son of National Commission for Scheduled Castes chairman Buta Singh in New Delhi late on Thursday night,had been intercepting his telephone conversations with several alleged hawala operators for the past 12 days. Sarabjot alias Sweety was taken to Mumbai where,after nightlong questioning,he was formally arrested Friday morning. He was produced before special CBI judge S P Hayatnagarkar along with three other accused,and was remanded in police custody till August 5. Sarabjot complained of back pain,and alleged the CBI had ignored medical advice and not allowed him to rest. Two of the other accused,Madan Singh and Dhunka Singh,told the judge they had been assaulted by CBI officers. The judge ordered their medical examination. Investigators had been listening in on calls between Sarabjot,Nashik-based contractor Ramarao Patil,Pune resident Anup Begi and several alleged hawala dealers in Mumbai and Bangalore since July 18,CBI sources said. The surveillance began after Patil complained to the CBI that Sarabjot had demanded a Rs 3-crore bribe to fix a case against him (Patil) at the SC Commission,headed by his father. In the intercepted calls,Sarabjot is believed to have told Patil that he would get the Commission to treat him favourably in the case,in which Patil was alleged to have pocketed a loan amount of around Rs 10 crore taken from a cooperative society on behalf of over 100 people belonging to a Dalit community. Sarabjot allegedly made his demand for a pay-off of Rs 3 crore on July 16,two days before the CBI got on to his trail. Sources in the CBI said Sarabjot,Patil and the others had been discussing the bribe in code words. Through the recorded conversations,investigators learnt that Sarabjot had asked Begi to collect Rs 1 crore from a hotel in Chembur,Mumbai,on the evening of July 29,and then call a mobile phone number that allegedly belonged to Mumbai-based hawala operator Madan Singh alias Madhu. Begi was to inform the hawala operator that the money had been sent by Patil, said a CBI source. Madan Singh,when called by Begi,asked him to deliver the money near Harkishandas Hospital. Even as a team of CBI investigators listened in,a second team closed in on Madan Singh,who had been joined by another hawala operator,Dhunka Singh. The two were arrested along with Begi as they were counting the cash. While monitoring Sarabjots calls,the CBI discovered he was also in touch with a certain Bangalore-based hawala operator. This man has not been arrested yet,and his name has not been revealed but he is learnt to have been calling Madan Singh and Dhunka Singh. This Bangalore operator was to deliver the bribe to Sarabjot in Delhi through his network of operators. The hawala dealers were communicating with each other in code words regarding the transaction, a top CBI source said. Investigators are learnt to be in possession of details of hawala operations in New Delhi,Mumbai and Bangalore,and Sarabjots alleged links with them. The CBI claims to have seized dairies bearing telephone numbers of several other dealers,and may pass on details of the alleged network to the Enforcement Directorate. Cash worth Rs 5.2 lakh has been seized from the operators. Sarabjots father,former minister and governor Buta Singh,said the arrest of his son was a political conspiracy,and ruled out resigning his post. Why should I resign? There is nothing against me. I dont claim to be a great moralist,he said. My son is innocent. I will fight for him. He has neither seen,touched or heard of the money.
