Nagpur :- Ambedkarite activists have alleged that Economic Offenses Wing (EOW) of city police was going slow in the case of alleged demolition of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Sanskritik Bhavan near Ambazari garden by Garuda Amusements. Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) had recently asked the company to stop work on developing the garden following a report submitted by divisional commissioner Vijayalakshmi Bidari regarding the demolition.
Ambazari police had booked Garuda directors Narendra Jichkar, Vijay Shinde, Pravin Agrawal and Pravin Jain on May 15. The case was then transferred to EOW.
Activist Pratap Goswami of AAP told that at least 150 complaints were lodged in six police stations against Garuda directors regarding the demolition in the last six to seven months. “However, city police was still reluctant to register an offence. An activist Rajesh Gajghate had to get a court order under Section 156 (3) of CrPC to force Ambazari police to register an FIR. The court order was issued on May 2, 2023, but the police tried to give time to the accused to file a review petition. When it was rejected, the police finally filed an FIR on May 15,” added Goswami.
The activist further said immediately after Ambazari police registered an offence, the case was transferred to EOW, which only deals with financial crimes and not cases of hurting religious sentiments.
Commissioner of police Amitesh Kumar, justified the decision. “The complainant had baseless reservations about Ambazari police. I had the option of handing over the probe to either the Crime Branch or EOW. As the Crime Branch was overburdened, I handed it over to EOW, which is a specialized unit for investigation,” he said.
Gajghate charged that EOW was going slow on the investigation. “The FIR was registered on May 15 but the accused have not been called for questioning even after five weeks. It seems the administration and government are trying to protect the accused,” he said.
Goswami said the four accused were booked under Section 295 of IPC (hurting religious sentiments). “Recent history shows that in such cases the police arrest the accused immediately. However, this has not been done in this case so far,” he added.
CP Kumar said that the accused had been called for investigation and they had secured an interim bail. “It is an old matter and does not warrant immediate arrest,” he further said, adding that investigation was going on.
Inquiry report confidential!
While the operator has been asked to stop work by MTDC on the basis of a report submitted by divisional commissioner, the state government is not ready to share the inquiry report with anybody. Goswami said he had sought the report under Right to Information (RTI) Act but was refused. He did not get it even after going for appeal. He alleged the government was trying to shield Garuda Amusement and hence the report was being kept secret.
Lokmat Times contacted the divisional commissioner Bidari for the report but she said that it was confidential and could be obtained from tourism department if it was ready to share it.
Garuda directors well connected
One of the directors of Garuda Amusements Narendra Jichkar has business relationships with several influential persons of the city. A well-known builder, who was also a prominent office-bearer of Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), is his business partner in two other companies. The younger brother of an MLC is also the partner of Jichkar in one of these companies. Jichkar himself is also very active in politics.
Immediate actions by police for hurting religious sentiments
City police are known for taking immediate actions against persons booked for hurting religious sentiments. In June last year, they arrested a young girl from Kamptee for posting an objectionable message. Similarly, two youths from Chandrapur were also arrested for posting objectionable comments. In these cases, police had arrested the accused within hours but in this case police seems to be shying away from making an arrest.
