Adjournment is in view of HC staying notices issued to cops accused of framing builder
The Andheri metropolitan magistrate’s court on Wednesday put off till April 25 its verdict on an application of the Maharashtra crime investigation department seeking the closure of the false case registered against city developer RR Chaturvedi at the Juhu police station on March 14, 2007.
The adjournment came in the wake of a stay issued by Bombay High Court on Tuesday on the notices issued to policemen charged by the CID of framing up Chaturvedi.
The CID is seeking to close down the case against Chaturvedi under the B summary classification after it recorded the statements of four policemen attached to the Juhu police station who said they had been pressured by seniors to lodge the false case. The CID is also seeking to prosecute the police officers concerned.
Thirteen police officers, including then additional commissioner of police Bipin Bihari, have already been suspended following the CID report filed before the state home department.
Meanwhile, the CID is finding itself at a loss to explain how a confidential report submitted by it to the state home department, seeking action against joint commissioner of police Arup Patnaik for his alleged role in foisting the false case, was leaked to the media, even when the state assembly was in session.
“It is unfortunate that the confidential report was leaked to the media,” CID chief SPS Yadav told DNA.
“An independent officer should be appointed by the state government to find out whether the leak took place from the home department, the office of the state director-general of police Anami N Roy or from the office of the state CID itself.”
It was barely a few months back when the state CID had lodged a police complaint, under the Official Secrets Act, against officials attached to the Anti Terrorism Squad after a confidential tape recording of the narco-analysis test of gangster Abu Salem was aired by some television channels.
Maharashtra’s additional chief secretary (home) Chitkala Zutshi told DNA: “A leaked confidential document is serious business, whether the legislative session is ongoing or not. For some time now, there have been leaks about the ongoing CID probe into the Chaturvedi case.”
Zutshi added: “The leaks are very purposefully done and personally motivated. At the current moment I cannot offer any comments regarding the inquiry into the leak.”
The CID probe into the leak of Salem’s narco-analysis test concluded nearly three months back was unable to establish the role of any ATS official.
Prior to the probe, a case under the Official Secrets Act was registered at the MRA police station after which ATS officials, including senior inspector Vasant Tajne (now in charge of NM Joshi Marg police station), Sunil Deshmukh (senior inspector in charge of the ATS unit at Juhu), sub-inspector Dhananjay Kandharkar (of the ATS unit at Juhu) and constables Narayan Patil and Rathu Kamble had been summoned by the CID to ascertain who leaked the tapes.
“So far, the CID has not communicated to us about its findings into the leak,” ATS chief Hemant Karkare said.
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