Suspended police officer claims innocence in Hasan Ali CD episode

The suspended senior IPS officer, accused of secretly filming the interrogation of Pune stud farm owner Hasan Ali Khan and leaking its doctored CD, has said that he was made "scapegoat" and the action being initiated against him may be to "hush up" the entire case.

"Days after I expressed my willingness to help the Enforcement Directorate in Hasan Ali Khan case, I was suspended. Moreover, I was also due for promotion. I sense that this was done to me so as to hush up Hasan Ali's case. I also believe there are some other reasons as well for my suspension," Ashok Deshbhratar, suspended DCP (government railway police), said.

Khan was arrested on charges of stashing away huge amount of black money in foreign banks.

Deshbhratar was accused of conducting a sting operation and making a CD of the interrogation of Ali in a fake passport case when he was arrested in Mumbai in 2008.

In the CD, Khan was shown boasting of his 'links' with top leaders of Congress and NCP and how the decision to appoint Hassan Gafoor as Mumbai police commissioner was taken at a meeting in a suburban five star hotel, police said.

After Deshbhratar's suspension, home minister RR Patil had said, "It has been proved in the (CID) investigation that the police officer had doctored the CD with an intention to malign the government.  He did not pass on the information about his secret interrogation to his superiors which proves his ulterior motive."