Journalist Ketan Tirodkar's case of trying to uncover the police-mafia link will come up for hearing in a special court today when a decision will be taken over his demand for a change of police officer to investigate his claims.

Two days after 'encounter specialist' Sub- Inspector Daya Nayak's house was raided by the Mumbai Police Crime Branch, under the directives of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act Court, the offices of film-maker Mrinalini Patil was raided in Oshiwara, in the western suburbs.

Not happy with the investigation by Assistant Commissioner of Police Shankar Kamble, since he is working in the same unit as Nayak, Tirodkar has asked the court to direct Additional Director General (Anti-Corruption) Rahul Gopal or Rakesh Maria, Additional Commissioner of Police, to conduct the probe. The accused in the case are Nayak, Patil, R C Agarwal, a businessman, Chhota Shakeel, and Fahim Machmach, both overseas-based gangsters.

In this bizarre case in which the journalist has made serious allegations against Nayak, he stated to the court that he was in regular touch with Nayak and acted as a conduit between him and the underworld.

Tirodkar's petition is also a plea to the court for a pardon. He says that money sent by Shakeel was utilised in the making of Kagaar, a film based on Nayak, and directed by Patil.

"In April 2003, accused No. 1 (Nayak) told me while driving through Juhu that he is to contest forthcoming parliamentary elections against Union Defence Minister George Fernandes on a Congress ticket. He further stated that he wanted to get clean of working for Don Chhota Rajan," Tirodkar said.

He then gave Tirodkar the mobile number of Machmach and asked the journalist to phone him. He then told Machmach that Nayak wanted to separate from Pradeep Sharma (another encounter specialist) and wanted to operate independently from the Crime Intelligence Unit in Andheri "for which heavy funds are required for facilitating transfer of Sharma and others to headquarters at Crawford Market."

The next day, the money was collected from two different locations in Mumbai. "Accused No. 1 paid me Rs 100,000 that he had brought separately," he said In the next few days, Pradeep Sharma and others were shifted out of Andheri office, Tirodkar said.