PUNE, 28 February 2005 — Another scandal linking top police officers with gutka (flavored tobacco) baron Rasiklal Manikchand Dhariwal is gathering storm while gutka king Jagdish Joshi is being interrogated by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials for his alleged links with underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.
A police source told Arab News that the CBI cannot simply confine itself to the links these two businessmen have with the underworld; the investigations should be widened to cover the links some senior police officers had with Dhariwal.
The source said that Dhariwal, a Congress party activist, befriended several of senior officers. It was this relationship that prompted Dhariwal to contribute Rs. 2.5 million toward the construction of Pune Police Public School. Dhariwal also promised to construct two residential colonies for policemen, and also extend financial help for any other police projects. Senior police friends of Dhariwal met him several times, requesting financial help for the projects, the source said.
Dhariwal’s links expose the police-criminal-politician nexus and raises several questions which the source said the ongoing CBI investigation should throw light on.
