Bhujbal-run MET’s campus inspected by charity commissioner

The eight and 10th floors of the Bandra premises of Mumbai Educational Trust (MET) run by public works minister Chhagan Bhujbal’s family were inspected by assistant charity commissioner Mangesh Deshpande on Saturday. Sayli Udas Mankikar reports.

The eight and 10th floors of the Bandra premises of Mumbai Educational Trust (MET) run by public works minister Chhagan Bhujbal’s family were inspected by assistant charity commissioner Mangesh Deshpande on Saturday.

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The charity commissioner ordered the inspection on April 4 following allegations of misuse of the floors by the Bhujbal family. Deshpande’s report, which is based on a combination of visual inspection and videography of the site, will be tabled during the next hearing of the case on April 11.

“As per the charity commissioner’s order, we allowed the inspection of the eighth and 10th floor, the first a classroom under construction, and the other a guest house. The issue is in court and we will put our views there,” said Sajal Yadav, Bhujbal’s lawyer who was present at the inspection.

The inspection is a result of the application made by former MET trustee Sunil Karve, a one-time trusted aide of Bhujbal, who after a fall-out with the minister approached the charity commissioner on February 1 to file an application under section 41(d) of the Bombay Public Trust Act for revocation of the Bhujbals’ trusteeships.

“There was no furniture showroom in the building,” Yadav told media persons standing outside the Bandra MET premises.

The order given on April 4 restricts five members of the Bhujbal family, including the minister, his son, legislator Pankaj, and nephew, MP Sameer, wife Meena and daughter-in-law Vishakha, who are members of the trust, from entering the disputed floors for purposes other than educational.