CBI joint director summoned over ‘unsatisfactory’ report

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Thursday summoned Amrit Prasad, western zone joint director for Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), after noticing that the investigation

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Thursday summoned Amrit Prasad, western zone joint director for Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), after noticing that the investigation officer’s report about tracing high-ranking beneficiaries of four benami flats in Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society was “completely unsatisfactory”.

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“This is complete non-application of mind”, said the division bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Amjad Sayed.

Acting on a plea filed by Thane-based activist Pravin Wategaonkar, the court had sought a report from the investigating officer as to why he did not investigate ‘high and mighty’ people from Mantralaya for whom four flats were kept aside in the hig-hrise at Cuffe Parade and for purportedly clearing files pertaining to the tainted society.

Wategaonkar sought direction from the court to the CBI, asking it why it did not investigate and fix the responsibility for deletion of the proposed widening of Captain Prakash Pethe Marg and allotment of the plot reserved for the road widening without first getting it de-reserved.

He said these aspects found no mention in the three charge sheets filed by the CBI.

He cited findings of the Justice (Retired) JA Patil Commission, which conducted an inquiry into the Adarsh scam, that dropping of proposed road widening work and change in reservation of the plot ‘was not in accordance with the provisions of the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning (MRTP) Act and it was illegal and mala fide.’

He said the CBI did not hold anyone liable for this.