DGP sent to police custody

Gopal (57) was produced before a special sessions court today amid tight security. The suspended officer told the court that he was suffering from chest pain and bouts of dizzinness.

Immediately after his arrest on Monday night, Gopal had got himself admitted to Poddar Hospital, Worli. He was discharged on Tuesday afternoon after doctors certified him fit.

The police now want to interrogate Gopal on the cash he had allegedly received as bribes from various private contractors for police housing projects all over the state. Chandok and Gopal will also be questioned on the various code words (like ‘Chakri’ and ‘MP’) used by them in the conversations taped by the police.

Gopal and Chandok’s voices will be submitted to a voice-analysis test.

In one of the tapes, Chandok says, ‘‘tumhari ek chakri padi hai leke jaiye’’. Responding to this, Gopal’s advocate Kulkarni said ‘‘the word chakri stands for bad luck, hence Chandok used this word while talking to Gopal.’’

Chandok had reportedly confessed on Monday that he accepted Rs 7 lakh from three contractors — Sainath Constructions, Prakash Constructions and National Constructions — of which, he paid Rs 2 lakh to Gopal.

When questioned last week, advisor to the Police Housing Corporation C.P. Tembrekar told investigators that Gopal had demanded a total of Rs 25 lakh from all contractors to clear their respective bills.

Meanwhile, State Deputy Chief Minister R.R. Patil said: ‘‘The interim report submitted by Additional Chief Secretary (Home) A.K.D. Jadhav indicts Gopal. Hence, we’ve decided to suspend him from service.’’ He said the Centre has been informed about the decision.

Asked if other officers from the police housing board too were involved, he said: ‘‘As of now, we’ve just one officer (Gopal), but I’ve asked the ACB to speed up the probe and explore all links.’’