Trafficking case: Katara sent to judicial custody

Interrogation of suspended Bharatiya Janata Party parliamentarian Babubhai Katara, an accused in the human trafficking case, has led to recovery of 35 passports, a local court was told on Monday.

The investigating officer gave this information when he was asked by the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Kamini Lau on the outcome of Katara's 11-day custodial interrogation, which ended on Monday.

Katara, who was produced before the court, was sent to judicial custody till May 4.

"So far 35 passports have been recovered at the instance of the accused lawmaker," the officer said.

Out of the 35, six passports belong to Katara and his family, the officer said, adding that they have probed into several bank accounts, property transactions and other investment details of the accused lawmaker.

On being informed that no other parliamentarians, whose names have cropped up during the probe, have been questioned, the court said, "If you catch one and leave another that is not good for your case and it is not done."

Another accused in the case, betel-shop owner Sunderlal Yadav, had on April 26 given a new twist to the trafficking case by naming three other lawmakers.

Yadav had said he had introduced the accused travel agents to Mohammed Tahir Khan, Bahujan Samaj Party lawmaker from Sultanpur in UP, Ramswarup Koli, BJP lawmaker from Bhayana in Rajasthan and late Parliamentarian Ram Awadh.

Katara was arrested at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi on April 18 while trying to take a woman Paramjeet Kaur and a 15-year-old boy to Toronto on the passports of his wife Shardaben and son Rajesh respectively.