Even as demand for stringent action against controversial IPS officer Satish Gajbhiye is mounting, the Crime Branch has broadened its investigations into the nefarious activities of arrested fake godman Sarathi Baba alias Santosh Raul.
As the three-day police remand of Raul ended on Tuesday, a Crime Branch source said he would be produced in the court on Wednesday along with a prayer to extend his remand for five more days because the case is turning out to be very wide-ranging and comprehensive.
On the third day of interrogation of Raul, the police headquarters here witnessed a flurry of activities as nearly 20 people were brought in batches for cross-examination in the presence of Raul. Similarly, as many as three separate teams of the Crime Branch went to various locations to corroborate the recorded statements of Raul.
At least 13 associates of Raul’s Barimul ashram in Kendrapada district were brought here on Tuesday morning for interrogation. later in the afternoon, a works contractor from Bhubaneswar and the ashram’s chartered accountant were also taken inside the police headquarters. Similarly, all the four persons named in the FIR of Raul’s companion, the controversial woman medico, were brought here separately with the help of Kendrapada police late in the evening. While an unconfirmed source said that a police team has gone to Paradip to bring the woman medico here for interrogation in the presence of Raul, Crime Branch sources did not confirm it.
Earlier in the day, two police teams went to Kendrapada to verify certain facts in the sub-registry office pertaining to the land deals of Raul and make further searches in the lodge located inside his ashram. Similarly, another police team went to the Income Tax Commissioner’s office in Cuttack to verify the tax returns of the charitable trust run by Raul in the name of his adopted son Satyam.
Nevertheless, the investigating sleuths have so far detected as many as 20 bank accounts operated by Raul and freezed 10 of them having combined deposits of `2.20 crore.