Hyderabad, May 3
The alleged kingpin in the human trafficking scam, Rashid, today surrendered before the police here.

Rashid, believed to be a broker for politicians, is alleged to have close contacts with many politicians, including TRS chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao.

The police was on the lookout for Rashid ever since the human trafficking scam came to the light.

However, Rashid’s lawyer Muzfar Ali Khan said Rashid presented himself before the police in a forged passport case of 2006 registered in the Saifabad police station.

“Rashid is the accused number nine in this case. Police records said he was absconding in this case and hence he surrendered today,” he said.

Rashid claimed that he never knew Katara and never even met him.

His lawyer pointed out that his client did not even receive summons in the human trafficking case.

“Rashid is not involved in this case. He has been made scapegoat by political leaders,” the lawyer said.

Rashid shot into notoriety after he was identified as the alleged travel agent from Hyderabad whom Gujarat MP Katara aide Sunder Lal Yadav had reportedly introduced to two MPs.

Later, K. Lingaiah, the TRS legislator, who is now presently in police custody for procuring passport for a woman from Gujarat claiming her to be his wife, Rashid, as the person who “misused” his passport for human trafficking.

Meanwhile, city police commissioner Balvinder Singh said a case was registered against S. Bapu Rao, another TRS rebel MLA, in the trafficking case.

Bapu Rao told local papers from his native Adilabad district that TRS chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao was behind the human trafficking scam and alleged that Rao introduced Rashid to him.