Senior cop wants dogs on naxals' trail

The Bombay high court directed the Radhanagari police station to take action against Jeevan Sarnobat, brother-in-law of NCP leader Vijaysingh Mohite-Patil, for allegedly grabbing a huge tract of land belonging to a religious trust in Kolhapur district.

The Bombay high court directed the Radhanagari police station to take action against Jeevan Sarnobat, brother-in-law of NCP leader Vijaysingh Mohite-Patil, for allegedly grabbing a huge tract of land belonging to a religious trust in Kolhapur district.

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The trust had moved the court after police failed to investigate Sarnobat and Balwantrao Mane, who purchased the land.

The trust had contended, "The police officers were working under the thumb of Vijay Singh Mohite-Patil, who is a leader of a ruling party, NCP."

Though the trust had filed a complaint with Radhanagari police on February 1, 2011, the police neither registered an FIR against the duo nor took any steps after the complaint.

The division bench of justice BH Marlapalle and justice UD Salvi last week directed the Radhanagari police to record the statements of Gajanan Ganpule, Chairman, and Ashok Baviskar, secretary of the board of trustees of Swami Jagadguru Shankaracharya Peeth, Karveer.

The bench also directed the police to take steps under code of criminal procedure.

The trust claimed the land, comprising three villages in Karveer tehsil was given to it in Inam back in 1848 and has been in the trust's possession since then. Some of the agriculturists who had encroached upon the land had given power of attorney to Sarnobat, who then sold the land to Mane. Three of these 36 agriculturists had died in April 2008, which made the transaction fraudulent, according to the trust.