Mumbai, Jan 30: The city sessions court today extended till February 09 the judicial custody of 23 accused in the multi-crore Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) examination scam of 1999. Additional sessions judge P N Deshmukh remanded them to judicial custody following a submission by special public prosecutor S K Menon that the investigations in the case were yet to completed and the two accused persons were still absconding.
In a related case, judge Deshmukh has postponed till February 03, the hearing on the bail application of Yogesh Sawalakhe, who allegedly acted as an agent.
Sawalakhe has submitted that since the investigation has been completed and he is ready to cooperate with the investigating agency making himself available whenever required, he should be released.
The scam was unearthed on June 29, 2002, following a confidential letter written by MPSC secretary Seema Dhamdhere to Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) with regard to malpractices. Since then, a total of 25 people have been arrested including former MPSC chairman S D Karnik, former examination controller Sudhakar Sarode, MPSC member Sayali Joshi and deputy superintendent of Police Baban Kadam.
Deputy municipal commissioner of Thane Vishwanath Kelkar and Hukumsingh Batti, constable from Pune were released on bail by the Bombay High Court, while the remaining accused were in custody. Bureau Report