Sadavarte has cash counting machine, police claim seeking lawyer’s custody

The Gamdevi police on Tuesday produced Manoj Mudaliar, one more person to be arrested in the case before the magistrate court

Mumbai Claiming that they have seized a currency note counting machine from advocate Gunratan Sadavarte’s house, the Gamdevi police on Tuesday again applied to the Girgaum metropolitan magistrate court for custody of the lawyer, booked for allegedly inciting MSRTC workers to stage violent protests outside Silver Oak, the Malabar Hill residence of Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar.

On Tuesday, when some other police stations from Kolhapur, Akot and Buldhana applied to the metropolitan magistrate court for Sadavarte’s custody, the Gamdevi police said that they need his custody for five more days (Hindustan Times)

On Tuesday, when some other police stations from Kolhapur, Akot and Buldhana applied to the metropolitan magistrate court for Sadavarte’s custody, the Gamdevi police said that they need his custody for five more days and urged the court to order jail authorities to produce him on Wednesday. The court posted the hearing on Wednesday.

The Gamdevi police on Tuesday produced Manoj Mudaliar, one more person to be arrested in the case before the magistrate court. Police arrested Mudaliar from Pune, claiming that he had conducted recce of the NCP chief’s residence along with one Ajit Magare, already arrested.

“Mudaliar had attended the conspiracy meeting that took place on April 7 at Sadavarte’s residence, where they had planned to carry out more similar attacks,” said special public prosecutor Pradeep Gharat. “We want to interrogate them together,” he added and sought further police custody of the lawyer.

“We suspect that Sadavarte has purchased two properties -- one at Parel and the other at Byculla- using the money collected from MSRTC employees. He has also purchased a posh car from Kerala for which he has even made a payment of ₹23 lakh. There are suspicious entries made in his diary which too require investigation,” Gharat said.

The police have also seized a currency note counting machine from Sadavarte’s house, Gharat said. “He has collected ₹530 from each of the MSRTC employees. There are over 85,000 employees in the state. The amount runs in crores,” Gharat said, adding that all this can be investigated only if the police get his custody.

Metropolitan magistrate N A Patel remanded Mudaliar to police custody till Friday, and also extended police custody remand of Sandeep Godbole and Ajit Magare till then.

Gamdevi police had on April 8 arrested 109 Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) employees, including 23 women, for allegedly pelting stones and shoes, and chappals at Pawar’s house, claiming that the NCP chief did nothing to fulfil their demands.