A Mumbai Sessions Court on Monday rejected pre-arrest bail application filed by Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) leader Kirit Somaiya in connection with a misappropriation of funds case registered by the Mumbai Police.
Somaiya and his son have been booked for allegedly misappropriating over Rs 50 crores collected to save the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant from being decommissioned. A case was registered against them at the Trombay Police Station in the city after a complaint was lodged by a retired army personnel.
Senior Advocate Ashok Mundargi stated that the campaign was launched not only by BJP, but also by Congress and Shiv Sena. The programme was by a political party, and hence utilisation of funds was not the applicant’s concern. He also said that the case was lodged after 9 years.
Special public prosecutor Pradip Gharat opposed the plea saying custodial interrogation is required considering the position and money collected. If this amount is not utilised for saving the INS from decommissioning, then it is important to find out where has it gone, said Gharat. He further said that the decommissioning required approximately Rs 7 crores and if Rs 57 crores had been collected, then the ship may not have required decommissioning.
