Deepak Mankar acquitted in Pune land grabbing case

The principal district and sessions judge, Anant Badar, on Friday acquitted Congress corporator Deepak Mankar and 18 others in the alleged land grabbing case due to lack of evidence.

The crime branch, Pune, had arrested Mankar on July 2, 2009, for allegedly trying to grab the land of a retired professor, Yashwant Natu (65), of Shukrawar Peth. Mankar was released on bail on September 15.

Senior lawyers Sureshchandra Bhosale, Sudhir Shah, P Narayan, ND Pawar and advocate Pushkar Durge represented Mankar and others in the case.

Natu narrated to the court the incidents that took place between August 19, 2006, and March 2008, when some people pelted stones on his house. Natu's FIR was registered on June 14, 2009, with the Khadak police station. He claimed that the police didn't register his complaint earlier.

Natu owns one-third property on Survey Numbers 1332 and 1332 A in Shukrawar Peth. Out of this one-third property, two-third belongs to his uncles, Balwant Natu, Sriniwas Natu and Suhas Natu. However, Natu did not sell his share of the property to builder Sudhir Karnataki. Natu alleged that Karnataki, Mankar and former corporator Datta Sagre then threatened him and forcibly took his signatures on some documents, paying him Rs1.25 crore against the sale of the property.Deepak Mankar