PUNE DS Kulkarni Developers Ltd (DSKDL) chairman Deepak Sakharam Kulkarni and his wife Hemanthi were granted anticipatory interim bail till November 7 by a special court in Pune on Saturday. The bail was in connection with a case of cheating filed by an investor.
The two will have protection from police action until November 7, Tuesday, when the matter will be heard again.
The bail was granted by additional sessions judge (special) JT Utpat in the case which was filed by Jitendra Narayan Mulekar (65), a resident Kothrud, who alleged that the company run by the two duped him for ₹4,40,647 since February this year.
The Kulkarni couple was booked under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 34 (common intention) and Sections 3 and 4 of Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPID) Act. The case was taken up by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Pune police after which the police received over 599 complaint applications.
Representing the Kulkarni couple, advocate Girish Kulkarni said that the developer will cooperate with the police and return the money to investors as soon as he can. Kulkarni, on behalf of DSK, said he will help his depositors constantly and will pay a few of them on Monday through electronic transfer. Judge Utpat questioned Kulkarni on the severity of the situation against his claims that he had been paying the depositors.
{{/usCountry}}Representing the Kulkarni couple, advocate Girish Kulkarni said that the developer will cooperate with the police and return the money to investors as soon as he can. Kulkarni, on behalf of DSK, said he will help his depositors constantly and will pay a few of them on Monday through electronic transfer. Judge Utpat questioned Kulkarni on the severity of the situation against his claims that he had been paying the depositors.
{{/usCountry}}Advocate Kulkarni also accused the investigation officer in the case, senior police inspector (EOW) Sanjay Kurundkar, of having malafide intentions. Senior PI Kurundkar responded saying he needed Kulkarni in custody for interrogation. “The police have time to give interviews in the media but not to listen to us,” advocate Kulkarni said.
The police have frozen 70 bank accounts of 7-8 firms of the DSK Group after special units searched five official and residential premises owned by the DS Kulkarni, including four in Pune and one in Mumbai.