PANAJI
In a startling turn of events, notorious criminal and land grab accused Suleman Siddique Khan claimed that his dramatic escape from the custody of the Special Investigation Team (SIT-Land Grab) at Ribandar was orchestrated by the police to divert public attention from the job scam.
Speaking in a telephonic conversation with Prudent Media from judicial custody, Khan alleged that the entire episode was staged and he was merely a pawn in a larger political game.
“The police orchestrated my escape to divert attention from the job scam, which was being widely covered by the media. They used me. The police took me out of the lock-up on the pretext of taking me for panchanama but took me to Hubli. I didn’t escape. This was all a political game,” he stated.
The Goa Police have however rubbished his claims questioning the “credibility of a criminal.” “A criminal can say anything, make any sort of allegations,” a senior IPS officer told The Goan.
Khan is charged with escaping from the lock-up on December 13, facilitated by the now-dismissed IRB constable Amit Naik. He was re-arrested nine days later, after alleging abandoning Naik mid-way in Hubli. However, Khan stated that he had surrendered to the police while claiming the second video was recorded at gunpoint.
“They got me to Goa and then released the video. The second video was recorded at gunpoint. The police held my wife and children in Kerala to exert pressure on him. I surrendered on December 17 in Mangalore under police presence,” he alleged.
Khan maintained that he was safe inside the jail but insisted that cases against him should be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). “This was all a political game. I am innocent,” he added while questioning the circumstances of his escape.
“If I really wanted to escape, I would have just waited for normal bail instead of fleeing,” he argued in further conversation with Prudent.
Khan further alleged that there was an offer of Rs 25 crore involved in the entire setup and that dismissed IRB constable Amit Naik, one of the accused in the jailbreak case, was a trained sharpshooter. “It was a game to trap me and kill me,” he claimed.
Meanwhile, the District and Sessions Court has reserved its order till February 24 on an appeal filed by the SIT (Land Grab) seeking Khan’s police custody. Besides, the Old Goa police have filed a 116-page chargesheet in the lock-up escape case, comprising 25 witnesses and naming three accused, including Naik.
Reacting to the latest developments, AAP President Amit Palekar who was named in Khan’s second video strongly criticized the police. “It is shocking and unfortunate that the police are succumbing to political pressure, proving they are not independent,” he alleged.
