MUMBAI, June 1: The unearthing of the Rs 1600-crore cobbler's scam that closed in on bigwigs of the shoe industry was expected, caused as it was by three agencies working towards its exposure.

Officials of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's octroi department had lodged complaints about raw materials being brought into the city on a large scale. These materials had octroi concessions as they were brought in lieu of the cooperative societies. On the basis of the complaints, the police carried out its own investigations, and a diligent officer in the office of the Registrar of Cooperative Societies decided to do a complete survey of registered societies in Mumbai.

Immediately after taking charge in 1995, Sudhir Thakre, the joint registrar of the Cooperative Society for Mumbai division, ordered a survey of the registered societies. ``Our officers, especially auditors of each of these societies complained that most of these societies did not exist at the registered addresses furnished to this office,'' Thakre said in an exclusive interview to Express Newsline, narrating the process of investigation into the big business' way to success through fictitious cobbler societies.

Thakre decided to survey all the societies that had been formed. ``Normally, since most of the cobblers were poor and illiterate, we did not like to harass them with too much inspection. "This leniency on the registrar's part was misused by the businessmen,'' he admitted.

The BMC, meanwhile, complained to the police about huge consignments of raw materials (used for the purpose of shoe-making) being brought into Mumbai. Worth around two crores, these materials obtained octroi concessions. The police started making their own investigations, and both the agencies got suspicious when ``all the cobblers' societies were found missing.''A clearer picture emerged by January 1996 when flying squads with the registrar were given specific orders to follow a society to its very last. A report on prima facie evidence was made for the police by March 1996. ``My boys worked for five months, sometimes without the societies themselves realising it, and by August 1996, we got the complete picture,'' he said.

DCP Sanjay Pandey, who had taken over the Economic Offences Wing then approached him asking for details, since he too was working on the case. ``By September 9, a report of 80 to 90 pages was ready for the police. "Till then, we had completed 19 raids and 51 societies were being investigated.'' The rest, as they say, is history.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.