Chennai, July 2: Deputy inspector-general of Tamil Nadu police A.P. Mohammed Ali, who was picked up by the CBI last evening in connection with the stamp paper scam masterminded by Abdul Karim Telgi, alleged in court today that the arrest was politically motivated.

Ali, who was produced before metropolitan magistrate Alamelu Natarajan for remand, told a packed courtroom: “I have been implicated in this case.”

The DIG had led the team that arrested DMK chief M. Karunanidhi in June 2001 days after Jayalalithaa had returned to power in the state. The midnight arrest of the veteran leader had caused a flutter across the nation.

The CBI sought a five-day custody of Ali. Asked by the magistrate if he wanted to say something, the officer who had supervised cases against several political leaders said the CBI has “embroiled me in a conspiracy”. The government suspended him today.

The bureau also asked for the same remand for assistant commissioner of police (anti-dowry cell) S. Shankar and an LIC officer in Madurai, Ramasamy Sadhu, who were held along with Ali.

Shankar, who was earlier in Ali’s crime branch-CID wing, said he was willing to “go into police custody”. His counsel said his client had nothing to tell the CBI. A “chronic diabetic”, Shankar said he was feeling “numb” in two fingers. Sadhu said he had an angioplasty done “only day before yesterday”. His counsel urged that his daughter be allowed to meet him daily.

The inspector seeking the remand said investigations have shown that the three, other than those named in the original FIR, had to be further probed on their links with the larger conspiracy.