Wednesday, August 17 2005 16:57 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Antim Totla, arrested by CBI for alleged adulteration of petrol, is believed to have named some Maharashtra politicians and bureaucrats, charging them with having received proceeds from this.

Totla, whose arrest was effected by the CBI on July 26, 2005 following intensive questioning, has told interrogators that some of the politicians and their kin were involved in the scam, highly-placed sources said.

The accused, who is now in judicial custody, has told the CBI that stamp paper scam accused Abdul Karim Telgi was a late entrant into the alleged diversion of naptha whereas some officials of major oil companies, both in public and private sector, had been allegedly doing it for years.

The statement of Totla came as a big surprise for the agency interrogators who were now preparing to question some Maharashtra politicians, including some ministers and MLAs.

Naptha is an industrial fuel which is being imported and the Government has put it on Essential Commodities list as some of the power projects are run on it.

The CBI was also on the look out for Totla's relative Prakash who had not turned up before the agency despite several notices at his office and residence.

In January 2005, CBI registered a case against Paradise Petrochem Private Limited, Jalgaon and Progressive Petroleum Company limited, Mumbai and others for allegedly diverting Naptha and Superior Kerosene Oil (SKO) for adulteration of petrol and diesel respectively during 1998-2003.