A Special Court in Pune on Wednesday granted permission to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to interrogate all the 65 accused, who are lodged in the Yerwada Jail of Pune, in connection with the fake stamp paper racket.
The CBI, which has now taken over the investigation from the Special Investigation Team (SIT) following a Supreme Court directive, had moved an application before Special Judge S M Shembole seeking permission to interrogate the accused.
In a related development, a total of 33 accused on Wednesday filed an application before the District Judge for changing the judge conducting the trial. They include Azim Telgi, brother of prime accused Abdul Karim Telgi. The accused want Special Judge S M Shembole to be replaced.
In a related development, the magisterial custody of 39 accused, including former Mumbai police commissioner R S Sharma, Joint Commissioner Sridhar Vagal, Deputy Commissioner Pradeep Sawant and others, have been extended to May 20. They were produced before the court on expiry of their magisterial custody.
Meanwhile, Raja Thakre, who was the special prosecutor of SIT, on Wednesday filed his papers in the court as CBI prosecutor.