Mumbai: An addtional chief metropolitan magistrate's court at Andheri has ordered the prosecution to add the earlier office bearers of RNA Heights Co-Operative housing society, JVLR Road, Jogeshwari as accused in connection with a complaint filed in 2017 by Joseph Tharakan, one of the members for alleged criminal breach of trust.
Former Secretary, Treasurer, And Chairman Named As Accused
The three are Biswajit Das, Madhu Agarwal and Sanjay Kapoor who at the relevant time held the posts of secretary, treasurer and chairman of R.N.A. Heights C.H.S, respectively.
The three were named in a complaint registered by the MIDC police in 2013, but their names were dropped from the list of accused when the police filed chargesheet. The police had ,instead, added them as witnesses in the case. Tharakan then filed a protest petition through his advocate Mohit Bharadwaj.
Magistrate Allows Protest Petition, Questions Police Probe
The additional chief Magistrate, 22nd Court, Andheri, G. D. Nirmale, in his order passed on October 9, allowed the protest petition filed by Tharakan and ordered that Das, Agarwal and Kapoor be added as accused.
The court said "there are allegations in the complaint regarding misappropriation of money by the accused who had dominion over the funds of the society. There is sufficient material in the police report consisting of statements recorded and documents filed along with the charge-sheet, which discloses the commission of cognizable offence by the three.”
"It appears that despite collecting sufficient evidence, the investigating officer abruptly dropped the names of accused, who were arraigned as accused in the original complaint and did not even find it necessary to give any reason or file any report for not arraigning them as accused and showing them as witness for the prosecution in the chargesheet. This act of the investigating officer does not stand scrutiny of law,” the court said, raising questions on the investigation.
Alleged Misappropriation In Property Tax Reduction Process
According to the complainant, in March 2013, the trio approached the municipal corporation to change the subzone (in which the Society was situated) from 0252 to 0251 so as to reduce the incidence of property tax. In June 2013, the corporation accepted the proposal and reduced the property tax from Rs 67.27 crores.to Rs 43.87 crores.
After the civic body reduced the tax amount, the trio is allegedly in an annual general meeting held on September 29, 2013, sought to sanction an amount of Rs 5 lakhs towards coordination expenses with BMC officials for reduction of tax. The resolution to that effect was also passed.
Complainant Alleges ₹8 Lakh Misappropriation As Bribe
Finally, on December 21, 2013, the corporation issued a bill with reduced property tax. Bharadwaj alleged that, after recieving the bill, the amount was raised from Rs 5 lakhs to Rs 8 lakhs towards bribe for reduction of tax amount. Hence, Tharakan claimed that by withdrawing the amount, they misappropriated it which is a criminal breach of trust.
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It was claimed that two years later, the BMC was informed about the misrepresentation of the sub-zone, the property tax was revised. The old rates were reinstated in January 2015.
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