Mumbai: Police on Friday grilled Pune-based stud
farm owner Hasan Ali Khan for the second consecutive day in
connection with a fake passport case and summoned Indian
Ambassador to Panama for questioning after his name surfaced
in the same case.
"Khan was questioned for the second consecutive day in
connection with the fake passport case inside the Arthur Road
jail, after permission from a sessions court," Joint Police
Commissioner (Law & Order) Rajnish Seth said.
Khan is currently lodged in the high-security Arthur
Road jail, after the Enforcement Directorate arrested him in
connection with an alleged money laundering and tax evasion
case.
Earlier, Khan had been arrested by the city police in
December 2008 for allegedly procuring a passport by submitting
fake documents. The Pune businessman was charged with forgery
and cheating and later released on bail.
Khan was yesterday briefly questioned in the prison. He
was taken to a government hospital for medical examination and
later taken to the jail at 4.45 pm, police said.
A three-member team, headed by senior inspector Vasant
Tajane today grilled Khan for five hours from 12 pm and
recorded his statement.
Meanwhile, city police summoned India`s Ambassador to
Panama Vishnu Hade for questioning after his name surfaced in
the case.
"We have recently sent a letter through a proper channel,
asking the ambassador to remain present before us for
questioning. Thorough probe will reveal if he (Hade) had
played any role in the case," Seth said.
"Just because he (Hade) has been asked to appear for
questioning does not mean he was involved in the crime," Seth
said, adding that Hade was not given any time-frame for
appearing before the police
During the fake passport case probe, a Regional Passport
Officer had been earlier questioned who revealed that Khan`s
passport was cleared on a priority basis after he received a
call from Hade, police said.
Hade was associated with Mumbai`s passport office, when
the passport was issued to Khan. According to police, Khan had
lost his original passport issued by the Hyderabad office in
2006, when he was in England.
Subsequently, he was given a fresh passport, valid for a
year, by the Indian High Commission`s office in England. He
had used it to travel to Switzerland and Canada, police added.
Later, Khan applied for a new passport in Pune. However,
the police found that the billionaire had two other passports
procured by submitting fake documents, one issued in Mumbai
and the other in Patna.
A sessions court had, on Wednesday, allowed Worli Police
to interrogate Khan for two days in connection with the fake
passport case after they moved an application in this regard.
PTI
