
One of those arrested overnight in the human trafficking case involving BJP MP Babubhai Katara told the court today that he had introduced travel agents suspected to be behind the racket to two sitting MPs and another MP who has since died.
Sunderlal Yadav, 36, who runs a paan shop on Barakhambha Road, alleged that he got the agents to meet Mohammed Tahir Khan, BSP MP from Sultanpur in UP and Ramswaroop Koli, BJP MP from Bayana in Rajasthan. He also named late Ram Awadh, a former MP from Faizabad in UP.
While Yadav alleged he introduced Hyderabad-based agent Rashid to Khan and Koli and another agent Mahesh Gupta to Awadh, he claimed he didn8217;t know they were agents. However, he admitted that he had received commissions between Rs 50,000 and Rs 2.5 lakh from these agents after the introductions. Yadav alleged he had also introduced Rashid to Mohan Murty, who he said was a secretary to TRS leader K Chandreshekhar Rao when he served as Union Minister, a claim a TRS spokesman denied saying no one called Murty had worked in the Minister8217;s office.
Yadav said he introduced Rajinder Kumar Gampa, also arrested by Crime Branch last night, to Babubhai Katara. The third person held is Gampa8217;s sister, Kiran Dhar, 32. Gampa, the police claim, was Katara8217;s private secretary who had facilitated the MP8217;s entry into the airport lounge. Gampa, however, denied this saying he had only met the MP 8220;four to five times during the past year.8221;