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DSK case: Evidence can be tampered if bail is granted, says special public prosecutor
The defence lawyer, advocate Shrikant Shivade had argued that the couple is old and that their age should be considered as a ground for granting them bail
City-based realtor Deepak Sakharam Kulkarni, his wife Hemanti Kulkarni, and son Shirish Kulkarni, along with others, arrested in the case of cheating and defrauding investors, used money from a public limited company for private luxuries, according to special public prosecutor (SPP) Pravin Chavan. While building an argument against the bail applications of the arrested, SPP Chavan said that evidence could be tampered with if they are granted bail.
Special public prosecutor Chavan was speaking against the bail application filed by the three in the court of additional sessions judge Jayant Raje. “There are at least four kinds of frauds that these people have committed. The nature and gravity of the offences is serious. The larger interest of the society needs to be considered. There is a possibility of evidence tampering if they are granted bail, as most of the witnesses are also employees of this company DS Kulkarni Developers Ltd (DSKDL),” said SPP Chavan.
The defence lawyer, advocate Shrikant Shivade had argued that the couple is old and that their age should be considered as a ground for granting them bail. However, SPP Chavan said, “Old age is not a licence to commit crime.”
The argument, according to SPP Chavan, was based on the two chargesheets filed in the case. However, one allegation of the misuse of land was submitted to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The company did not tell the potential homebuyers that the land had a debentures trustee on its board. The project never reached completion and while more details could not be confirmed, SPP Chavan claimed that the seized documents show irregularities to the tune of Rs 111 crore.
Through various banks, the DSKDL company received at least Rs 1,600 crore in loans. Out of the Rs 1,600 crore, the arrested people along with others “siphoned off” Rs 711 crore, according to SPP Chavan.
In the Phursungi project called Dream City, the land was bought through various relatives including the three women whose anticipatory bail application was being heard in the court - Tanvi Kulkarni, Swaroopa Kulkarni, and Ashwini Deshpande, according to SPP Chavan. The land was brought for cheap from the farmers and sold to DSKDL by these relatives at inflated prices, he told the court. The Dream City project alone has alleged irregularities of Rs 184.35 crore, according to the prosecutor.
In another submission to the court, SPP Chavan said that DSKDL has not completed a single project since 2012 and has pending payments since 2008.
Additionally, the fixed deposit holders’ money that was collected in Hemanti Kulkarni’s account reached Rs 1,283 crore, according to SPP Chavan.
Part of this money, meant for repaying loans and building the housing projects, was used for personal luxuries and family interests. He told the court that the money was used for buying a football field for DSK’s son, opening an educational institute for his daughter-in-law and other personal luxuries.
