As soon as the Crime Investigation Bureau (CID) gets the formal orders from the State Government to take over the case of Yogendra Sao by tomorrow, it will expedite the search of the absconding leader and try to nab him. According to ADG (CID) SN Pradhan, the investigations carried out so far jointly by the State police and CID are in the right direction on the basis of which arrest warrant has been issued by the court against Sao.
“As investigations are already in the right directions, we will expedite the search for Sao and hope that he will be behind the bars very soon,” said Pradhan. CID is yet to receive the formal orders for taking over the case from the district police, he added.
Initially, CID had also been asked to investigate the case jointly along with the district police. Chief Minister Hemant Soren, however, handed over the case to the CID after being requested by Sao’s family alleging the Hazaribagh Police of framing the former Minister in connivance with his opponents to malign his image.
Sub-divisional Judicial Magistrate of Hazaribagh had issued a non-bailable warrant on September 16 against Sao, his brother Dhirendra Sao and cousin Pawan Sao after they did not turn up before he police for questioning even after being issued notices against them.
“We have been supporting the Hazaribagh police during the investigation and on the basis of the evidences gathered by us the court has issued an arrest warrant against Yogendra Sao,” said Pradhan.
Sao was made to resign on September 12 following allegations made by the arrested ‘Jharkhand Tiger’ chief Rajkumar Gupta of Sao giving patronage to the outfit and also being its founder. All facts and call detail records of Sao’s mobile phone indicated that he was in regular contact of the arrested persons.
Three teams formed by Hazaribagh Police to nab Sao have not been able to locage him so far. According to sources in the police department, Sao’s mobile phone has also been switched off after he left Jharkhand Bhawan in New Delhi. One of the police team which is still camping in Delhi has found that Sao also spent a night at NTPC guest house in New Delhi.
Meanwhile, the police interrogating Raju Sao, currently on police remand for five days who has gradually started his links with the former minister and his involvement in the illegal coal business.
The police have been investigating the alleged links of the former minister with Jharkhand Tigers after the arrest of its head Raj Kumar Gupta and four others on September 1 in Hazaribagh. In his statement recorded under Section 164 before a judicial magistrate, Gupta accused Sao of founding JT for extorting money from the local businessmen in the coal belt.