Navi Mumbai’s police commissioner’s apparent lack of seriousness in probing a racket to print fake ration cards during the LS elections earlier this year has not gone down well with the court.
It is the Navi Mumbai’s police commissioner’s turn to face flak from the Bombay high court. His apparent lack of seriousness in probing a racket to print fake ration cards during the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year has not gone down well with the court.
Hearing a petition filed by Shirish Gharat, a local Shiv Sena activist, who had complained to the police about the racket being run by leaders of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), the court directed commissioner Gulabrao Pol to file a personal affidavit.
“Prima facie, it appears that during investigation, the crime branch of Navi Mumbai had come across sufficient evidence in regard to cognisable offences and offences against the society, the government, and the political system. However, no further affidavit was filed by the commissioner,” the court observed.
A division bench comprising justice BH Marlapalle and justice RY Ganoo said, “We expect the commissioner to consider the seriousness of the alleged racket and the material available during the course of investigation while filing the affidavit.”
Senior inspector Sunil Khaladkar of the Navi Mumbai crime branch, who investigated the case, was also summoned by the court on December 8.
Gharat, in his petition filed in April this year, alleged that he received a call on April 23 informing him about fake ration cards being printed at a shop in Belapur. “I and my party workers rushed to the spot and found the ration cards being delivered to White House, the election office of the NCP,” the petition said.
According to Gharat, despite being informed, the Belapur police registered an FIR only a day later, on April 24. The police was also informed about the 5,000 fake ration cards being printed on the instructions of Santosh Mhatre.
The election commission, in a notification issued before the parliamentary elections, had included ration cards, smart cards, and health insurance cards as proof of identity for voting. The petitioner has now demanded a CBI probe into the racket.
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