Mumbai: Builder Suraj Parmar was to meet Sena corporator the day he died, says Defence lawyer

A defence lawyer seeking bail for one of the accused in the builder Suraj Parmar suicide case on Monday alleged that Parmar was slated to meet a Shiv Sena corporator on October 7, 2015, the day he shot himself.

Parmar had, in his suicide note, alleged that there was a nexus of some corporators and officials of Thane Municipal Corporation who were harassing him for bribes and blocking the approvals for his projects.

Advocate Hemant Sawant, appearing for the arrested corporator Sudhakar Chavan (MNS), told the Additional Sessions judge V V Bambarde that the Shiv Sena corporator had business relations with Parmar and the two had entered into agreements for land development.

One such venture failed and the corporator and Parmar were to meet that day but the corporator later told police that the meeting did not take place, advocate Sawant said. The lawyer also said there was a conspiracy to finish the political career of his client and that of a senior NCP leader from the city.

The four corporators, including Chavan, who were arrested in the case, were being made the scapegoats, he said. The other arrested accused in the case are Hanumant Jagdale (NCP) and Vikrant Chavan (Congress), besides Najeeb Mulla (NCP) who has got bail.

The lawyers of Jagdale and Vikrant Chavan said they had raised the issue of irregularities in the projects of Parmar's group only out of the sense of civic duty and not to harass him. The hearing would continue on Tuesday.