Alleging that a top state police official had offered a bribe to Maharashtra SIT officials to prevent the arrest of former minister and ruling TDP leader Krishna Yadav in connection with the fake stamp paper scam, the Congress in Andhra Pradesh on Sunday demanded a judicial inquiry into the matter.

Yadav, now under custody of the Maharashtra police, was arrested by the Pune police in October 2003. He has since been expelled by the TDP.

"A high-ranking police official sought to offer a bribe of Rs two crore to the sleuths of Pune SIT to prevent Yadav's arrest," state Congress spokesperson K Rosaiah alleged at a press conference in Hyderabad.

"The government should tell at whose instance Yadav was taken to the Police Officers' Mess in Hyderabad on October 6 and the name of the person who tried to bribe the Pune SIT officials," he said.