VADODARA, July 25: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), investigating the death of Yogesh Patel while in custody at the Gorwa police station, has uncovered further evidence to suggest that the Vadodara police had acted in favour of Alembic Chemicals while handling a cheating case against Patel.

The case dates back to February last year, when Alembic Chemicals had slapped a cheating case against Yogesh Patel accusing him of selling off a drug worth Rs 1 crore that was meant for export. And it was during police interrogation that Patel died, after which his wife moved the High Court alleging torture.

Highly placed sources in the bureau told The Indian Express that documents with Alembic and NEPC Airlines had established that four police personnel of Vadodara had travelled on that airline from Goa to Mumbai at the company's expense.

They said while one such air-trip had been confirmed this week following a series of cross-checks, details of another were being substantiated. The sources said the team, comprising Assistant Commissioner of Police K C Patel, sub-inspector J T Rana and head constables K Singh and M B Kadam, had travelled from Goa to Mumbai in mid-February, 1996 by NEPC Airlines along with Alembic officials Haren Patel and G Mehta.

The company had purchased the tickets against cash payment, added the sources.

In fact, The Indian Express was shown correspondence to this effect, including confirmation letters of NEPC agencies of different cities. Incidentally, this is not the only clue the bureau has in its possession.

The bureau team had established in the first week of June that a police team had gone to Karnataka in an air-conditioned Tata Sumo taxi from Vadodara.

It has in its possession bills for Rs 25,000, Rs 18,000 and Rs 16,000 as payment made by the company. The officials belonging to the police and the company had reportedly stayed in posh hotels there.

Alembic Chemicals Ltd had lodged a case of cheating against Patel at the Gorwa police station on February 14 last year, alleging that he had sold a drug (Althrocin), worth about Rs 1 crore in the domestic market, which was supposed to be exported.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.