Deputy Inspector-General of Police A.P. Mohammed Ali, arrested in connection with the multi-crore stamp paper scam yesterday, was remanded to CBI custody this afternoon.In the court of the Tenth Metropolitan Magistrate, Ali said in a feeble tone: ‘‘I have been implicated in the case.’’ Even as he claimed that the CBI had involved him in the case out of political motive because he had handled sensitive cases (against DMK chief M.Karunanidhi and his son M.K.Stalin) as the CB-CID chief, a section of the crowd in the packed court room raised slogans against Ali. ‘‘You are a black spot on the Tamil Nadu police force,’’ they shouted. It was an implicit reference to the manner in which Ali had allegedly manhandled and arrested Karunanidhi in 2001 in connection with the flyover scam.Magistrate Alamelu Natarajan immediately ordered the court staff to remove those raising slogans. ‘‘You do not have any regard for the court also?’’ she said.Later, she remanded Ali, Assistant Commissioner Shankar and a Life Insurance Corporation officer, Sadhu Ramasamy, to four-day police custody.The CBI said Ali and Shankar had suppressed ‘‘certain important facts by acts of omission and commission with the intention to save the accused’’. They also allowed Abdul Karim Telgi and his associates to ‘‘continue their illegal business of selling counterfeit stamps in Chennai and other parts of Tamil Nadu’’, it added. The CBI’s investigating officer sought five days police custody for the accused. He said the LIC officer from Madurai had conspired with the accused, including Telgi, Nizamuddin and Balaji, in selling ‘‘fake insurance stamps to various LIC offices in Chennai and other parts of TN by using his influence as an active member of the LIC Officers Association’’.The Magistrate, however, granted four days of police custody, and directed that the accused be immediately taken to a doctor, if any of them complained of medical problems. Last night, all the three accused underwent medical tests at the Government Royapettah hospital here.The LIC official has told the Magistrate that he was a heart patient. Ali said he has been suffering from hypertension and bronchitis, while Shankar said he was a ‘‘chronic diabetic’’ and was feeling ‘‘numbness’’ in two of his fingers, but that he did not mind CBI custody.The Tamil Nadu Government today suspended Ali and Shankar from service. Official sources said, the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption had conducted a preliminary inquiry into several complaints against Ali and a report was presented to the Vigilance Commissioner and the Home Secretary a few months ago. However, there was no progress in the ‘‘file movement’’, they added. Home Secretary Syed Munir Hoda was shifted out and placed on compulsory wait. The present Health Secretary, Sheela Rani Chunkath, has been elevated to his post.
