Two scams, one ‘corrupt’ cop

This time, his custody is being sought by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) investigating the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) scam.

In fact, two senior police officers’ names have cropped up in the probe of the case, where several hundred candidates for a 1999-exam conducted by the MPSC had paid Rs 2 to Rs 3 lakh each, to manipulate their answersheets. While one former IPS officer’s name has been withheld for now, the other has been identified as assistant commissioner Mulani.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Sudhakar Pujari of the ACB confirmed that they have informed SIT chief S.S. Puri about the developments, but refused to elaborate. ‘‘It’s likely that we will arrest Mulani. The matter is under investigation,’’ was all he would say on the investigations.

Senior ACB officers say they were deferring Mulani’s arrest because they didn’t want to hamper investigations into the stamp scam — which they consider ‘‘bigger’’.

Mulani’s ‘other’ crimes

•Mulani is believed to have been a key player in collecting money from candidates aspiring to be recruited as assistant sales tax inspectors and police sub-inspectors in 1999.

• ACB sources say Mulani also threatened a crucial witness — one of the candidates — if he dared to blow the whistle on him. This witness’ statement to the police had led to the arrest of MPSC member Saylee Joshi. Later, on the request of the Anti-Corruption Bureau, the Pune police even provided police protection to the witness.

• Moreover, Mulani and Joshi knew each other since 1995-96, when Saylee was a storekeeper with the Indian Institute of Education (IIE), Pune. Mulani was then an inspector with Pune police. The Anti Corruption Bureau is also probing how Joshi, with only a B.Com degree, was promoted Deputy Director of the IIE, later becoming a member of the MPSC.

• Mulani, in connivance with Joshi and co-accused Nitin Sathe, an estate agent, manipulated the answersheets of Mulani’s son Riyaz, who wanted to get through the 1999 exam for police sub-inspectors.