'Appoint an officer to probe if MCOCA can be invoked'

A special PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court on Saturday directed Mumbai police commissioner Arup Patnaik to appoint a competent officer to espouse the possibility of invoking stringent provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) in the alleged money laundering case involving Pune businessman Hasan Ali Khan.

A special PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court on Saturday directed Mumbai police commissioner Arup Patnaik to appoint a competent officer to espouse the possibility of invoking stringent provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) in the alleged money laundering case involving Pune businessman Hasan Ali Khan.

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The court was acting on an application filed by activist IG Khandelwal seeking directions to slap stringent provisions of the MCOCA citing Hasan Ali Khan's links to Saudi arms dealer Adnan Khashhogi and some other crime syndicates revealed during the Enforcement Directorate (ED) probe.

Designated MCOCA judge SM Modak has given the city police chief a month's time to appoint the officer and to submit a report of findings. The judge has given liberty to the CP to seek extension, if required.

The state government opposed the plea objecting to its tenability. Public prosecutor Dilip Shah argued that the complaint was not bonafide. He contended that without placing relevant information before the court, nobody can file a plea seeking to invoke MCOCA charges against any person. He added the complainant could have approached the ED for redressal of his grievances.