German team’s ‘brush’ with Indian law

KOLKATA: German public prosecutor Juergen Lewandrowski arrived in the city on Monday, with officers Alexander Sirowi and Dieter Eckert, to help the CID investigate a fake BPO case. Over two days, Lewandrowski, with the help of a CID-appointed interpreter, translated all the documents he had brought with him to assist with the case and finally, on Wednesday, he testified before a Bidhannagar court.
“In our country, we treat forensic data and witnesses with equal importance. We received an email from CID while probing this particular case and decided to extend help,” Lewandrowski said.
The German team did its homework before getting here. Carrying over hundreds of pages of documents in CDs and hard copies, the team has traced not only the origin of the crime — where a fake BPO operating from Sector V duped people across the world — but also the places where the accused parked their money. The testimony, thus, lasted around a couple of hours. “We have been in constant touch with the complainant even from Kolkata,” said Lewandrowski.
This is, though, not the first time that the German team has helped the CID. “We had extended help with the probe into another fake BPO last March ,” Lewandrowski added.
The German legal system treats a written conversation with a lawyer as a legal document. It is this document that Lewandrowski brought with him, claimed CID officials. The joint probe between the two nations has revealed how main accused Richa Pipulwa had planned the crime. “She was initially working with another Indian firm that sold solar power equipment. While there, she was attached with a project selling bandwidths. The idea came back to her when she found a Delhi-based call centre duping people in a similar way,” said a CID official.
The CID has now asked the court to allow it to question the five arrested in this case in Lewandrowski’s presence.