HC Fines Bhujbal, A N Roy

HC Fines Bhujbal, A N Roy 23 Jan 2009, 2033 hrs IST, PTI Text: MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Friday imposed a fine of Rs 2,500 each on deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal, Maharashtra DGP Anami Roy, and three other high-ranking police officers for not filing affidavits in a case related to Sara-Sahara case. Court was hearing the petition filed by former journalist Ketan Tirodkar seeking action against Bhujbal on the basis of the testimony of an investigating officer (IO) in the Sara-Sahara case. The Sara-Sahara case pertains to the construction of an illegal shopping mall, allegedly bankrolled by fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim, on land belonging to Central government. ACP Shankar Kamble, the IO, had told the special MCOCA court during the trial that two officers of the Municipal Corporation -- who were suspects in the case -- were not arrested because of the pressure from the Home Ministry. Bhujbal, a Nationalist Congress Party leader, was the state Home Minister at the relevant time. Tirodkar filed a petition in the High Court last year, seeking action against Bhujbal. Last month, court had asked Bhujbal, Kamble, Director General J D Virkar (the then home secretary), former Mumbai Commissioner of Police R S Sharma and state Director General of Police Anami Roy to file affidavits in the case. Roy, following High Court's instruction to conduct an inquiry into Bhujbal's role in this case, had given the Minister a clean chit two months ago. As none of them filed affidavits despite instructions last time, the division bench of Chief Justice Swatanter Kumar and Justice Dhananjay Chandrachud imposed a fine of Rs 2,500. The affidavits will have to be filed in two weeks.

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