Kendrapara: Kendrapara SDJM court on Friday allowed Crime Branch to take gangster Tito alias Syed Usman Ali on remand for three more days.
The Crime Branch sleuths had produced the gangster before the court and appealed to take Tito on remand for further interrogation in connection with his illegal properties and financial transactions.
Earlier this morning, former councillor of Ward-16 in Kendrapara district Hifzul Rehman had deposed before Odisha Crime Branch in connection with his alleged links with gangster Tito.
The Crime Branch had asked Rehman to appear before it following some vital information pertaining to it.
The Special Task Force (STF) of Crime Branch has also decided to interrogate gangster Tito’s wife Benazir Bibi, who owns most of the criminal’s properties.
STF officials have traced a luxury car worth Rs 60 lakh belonging to Tito and frozen five of his bank accounts in Kendrapara district.
Besides, the investigating agency will also probe the ownership of a petrol pump belonging to Tito to find out how permission was granted to him for opening a filling station despite his criminal background.
The Crime Branch has already begun the process of freezing Tito’s bank accounts, those of his wife and 16 of their relatives.
During the course of the investigation, the Crime Branch came across more than 50 accounts, belonging to Tito and his relatives, in 34 banks.
The investigating agency has also written to tehsildars of Kendrapara, Dharmasala, Balichandrapur, Garadpur, Pattamundai, Marsaghai and Mahakalapada for information pertaining to the tendering process of Balighats and the involvement of Tito and his aides in it.
The Crime Branch has also served a notice to producer of Odia movie Biswanath over allegations that Tito had invested in it. The mahurat of the film was held recently.
Further inquiry is on for more vital information in the matter and to ascertain whether the gangster invested in any other film.
Earlier, Crime Branch sleuths had produced Tito before the Kendrapara SDJM court and sought 10-day remand for interrogating him on his crime network, inter-state and business links. However, the court granted permission for remand of four more days on July 9.
The STF had taken him on five-day remand on June 4.
An STF team had also visited Kolkata on Sunday to obtain information regarding Tito’s alleged links and properties in the city.
Properties, including land, vehicles and houses, worth Rs 2 crore were unravelled during the raid.
