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Maharashtra Sadan scam: Chhagan Bhujbal, kin discharged due to ‘lack of evidence’

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Chhagan-Bhujbal

Spelling a huge relief for embattled Maharashtra Food and Civil Supplies Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, he, his son Pankaj and nephew Sameer, and five others were on Thursday discharged by a special court for “lack of evidence” in the alleged corruption cases pertaining to the Maharashtra Sadan in New Delhi and other projects.

Special Judge H.S. Satbhai, in his July order, has also discharged former PWD engineer Arun Devdhar, construction firm K.S. Chamankar Ent officials Prasanna Chamankar, Krishna Chamankar, Praveena Chamankar and Praneeta Chamankar, in the case filed by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).

The ACB case related to the 2005 deal entered with the firm K.S. Chamankar Ent, without calling for tenders when Chhagan Bhujbal was the PWD Minister in the then Congress-Nationalist Congress Party alliance Democratic Front government in the state.

Contending that there was “no evidence” to prosecute them, the Bhujbals had sought discharge, terming all the allegations levelled against them in the ACB case as “fake, based on wrong calculations and assumptions”.

The court order said that undue haste was made in lodging the FIR against the accused, and the ACB’s calculations of the alleged profits made by the contractor or the implied losses accrued to the state government without taking the help of an expert was illegal and improper.

It further noted that from the documents submitted, it seemed that most of the calculations were made by the informant and Assistant Commissioner of Police, ACB, Narendra Talegaonkar, who was neither an engineer, an architect, or an expert.

The special judge said that there is no evidence that the contractor had paid the bribe of Rs 13.50 crore to the Bhujbals, their staffers or their family members named as accused in the case.

The contractor was granted the redevelopment rights on a slum pocket at the prime location of RTO in Andheri west on the condition that the company would construct the Maharashtra Sadan in New Delhi, the RTO Building in Mumbai, and a government guesthouse in south Mumbai.

The Bhujbals’ lawyers Prasad Dhakephalkar, Sajal Yadava and Sudarshan Khawase argued that despite the voluminous chargesheet running into over 11,000 pages filed against them by the ACB in 2019, there is not sufficient evidence to continue with the trial against them.

Opposing their plea in the court, the ACB contended that the Bhujbals and others had received kickbacks from the firm in the project to build the Maharashtra Sadan state guesthouse in New Delhi.

Against the government circular of giving 20 percent to contractors, the ACB said the company had allegedly earned 80 percent profits in the New Delhi construction project.

While the original cost for building the guesthouse was reportedly Rs 13.50 crore, it was later hiked to Rs 50 crore.

The ACB claimed that the Bhujbal’s got Rs 13.50 crore as kickbacks from the contractor who allegedly earned a total profit of around Rs 190 crore from these PWD projects.

Crime

RG Kar victim’s parents yet to secure death certificate even after six months

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Kolkata, Feb 22: Over six months have passed since the shocking rape and murder of a junior woman doctor at Kolkata’s R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital but her parents are still to get a copy of her death certificate.

The body of the victim was recovered from a seminar hall within the premises of the state-run institution early on August 9 last year.

The victim’s parents have alleged that they have been unable to get the death certificate till now as the R.G. Kar and Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) authorities are shifting the responsibility onto each other.

According to them, the KMC authorities are claiming that since the “place of death” is R.G. Kar, it is the responsibility of the hospital authorities to provide the death certificate.

On the other, the R.G. Kar authorities claim that if a patient dies within the hospital premises or is even brought dead to the hospital, the death certificate will have to be provided by the KMC authorities, the parents added.

The victim’s parents have further claimed that although they have not got a copy of the death certificate, it has been mentioned in the court documents, as per the statement of a medical officer attached to R.G. Kar.

They now say if the death certificate is mentioned in the court documents, why was a copy of the certificate not handed over to them?

Last week, a special court in Kolkata, which had convicted and sentenced civic volunteer Sanjay Roy in the rape and murder case, directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to file a fresh progress report on its investigation in the matter on February 24.

Since the special court has already pronounced the sentence for the convict in the main crime of rape and murder, legal circles feel that the fresh progress report will be related to the angle of tampering with the evidence in the case.

It is learnt that the special court had directed the CBI to submit a fresh progress report following a complaint filed by the counsel of the victim’s family accusing the central agency of not updating the court on the progress of investigation in the matter periodically.

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Crime

Ten persons arrested for attack on Congress MP, says Assam CM

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Guwahati, Feb 21: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Friday that ten persons have been arrested in connection with the attack on Congress MP Rakibul Hussain.

Taking to social media platform X, CM Sarma said, “The police have identified the individuals involved in the alleged incident of assault on Congress MP Sri Rakibul Hussain.”

He also mentioned that the actions will be taken as per the law.

The Dhubri MP was attacked while attending a public programme in the Nagaon district.

The Congress MP had to run from the spot wearing a helmet to save himself. The security officers of Hussain sustained minor injuries in the attack.

In a viral video, it was seen that some masked miscreants initially showed black flags to the Congress MP and after that attacked him.

In the video, Hussian was seen fleeing from the spot in a two-wheeler to save himself from the attack.

The incident that happened in the Ruporihat locality drew criticism from the opposition with Congress leaders training guns on the BJP government.

Gaurav Gogoi, Deputy Opposition leader in the Lok Sabha, launched a sharp attack on the BJP government as Congress MP Hussain was attacked on Thursday.

Gogoi said, “In Assam, a Congress Lok Sabha MP is attacked by thugs in broad daylight in a busy marketplace. The goons even attack the police security officers and try to snatch their weapons. All of this is recorded on camera. Yet the Chief Minister of Assam Himanta Biswa Sarma refuses to ensure that the thugs will be arrested immediately.”

“The Chief Minister should at least think of his constitutional duty towards Assam Police and the innocent civilians in the marketplace. If the goons had got hold of the machine gun, a terrible tragedy could have taken place. The attitude of the Chief Minister will only embolden the thieves, dacoits, smugglers and those accused of murder. Democracy is under threat and people of Assam want freedom from this gunda raj culture,” he added.

The Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Debabrata Saikia said it was a “failure” of the police and administration.

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Crime

New India Co-operative Bank Scam: EOW Arrests Former CEO Abhimanyu Bhoan

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Mumbai: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has made another arrest in the New India Co-operative Bank scam. Former CEO Abhimanyu Bhoan has been taken into custody, making him the third accused in the case.

The Court has remanded accused into police Custody untill February 28.Bhoan’s arrest follows an ongoing investigation into financial irregularities within the bank, which allegedly led to taken place during his working period.

The authorities suspect his involvement in mismanagement and fraudulent transactions.Further investigation is underway, and officials believe that more arrests may follow in the case.

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