Khot arrested at Mumbai airport

Mumbai, May 18 (UNI) Suspended Additional Chief Secretary Ashok Khot, who was declared yesterday as ''proclaimed offender'', was finally arrested tonight at Chhatrapati Shivaji domestic airport here, according to City Police Commissioner A N Roy.

DCP Zone II Pratap Dighavakar, who was supervising the arrest operation, said that his team was tracking the movements of Khot from Delhi since yesterday and as he landed at 2230 hrs at the domestic airport by IC 602 flight, he was immediately arrested and taken to Malabar police station.

Mr Dighavakar told UNI that Khot would be shifted to Thane Jail after a medical check-up.

Khot, along with former Maharashtra Transport Minister Surupsingh Naik, was sentenced to serve a month's simple imprisonment by the Supreme Court for contempt of court on May 10.

Naik had surrendered to the police on May 13 and was taken to Thane Jail the same day in the early morning, but later was admitted to the J J Hospital after he complained of high blood pressure on May 15. Khot, however, evaded arrest for a couple of days.

Yesterday, he was declared ''proclaimed offender'' and was arrested tonight.

Naik and Khot were sentenced to a month's simple imprisonment for violating Supreme Court orders of 1997 which had directed closure of over 100 saw mills operating from the reserved forest areas. Naik, who was the State Forest Minister in 2004, and Khot who was the Principal Forest Secretary, had, however, allowed six saw mills to operate in violation of the apex court's orders.

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