Court upholds Sara razing
MUMBAI: A special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court on Wednesday rejected a plea by one of the accused to stop the BMC from demolishing portions of the controversial Sara-Sahara shopping complex near Crawford Market.
The rejected application had pleaded for a stay on the demolition on the grounds that the illegal structures in the Munim compound of the complex constituted material evidence in the criminal case and bringing them down would prejudice the defence of the accused.
Seven people, including Dawood Ibrahim’s brother Iqbal Kaskar and four BMC officials, have been accused of colluding to develop the structures to help the underworld enter the real estate market.
On Tuesday evening a special MCOCA judge had visited the site at Musafirkhana along with public prosecutors, defence lawyers and a photographer.
In an order passed on Wednesday, the court held that razing the structure would not affect the criminal trial in any way. The Bombay high court had earlier settled the civil side of the matter by ordering all shopkeepers to move out and the structure to be demolished.
In May 2006 the SC upheld this order. Defence lawyer Waris Pathan said he planned to move the same application in the Supreme Court on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the BMC planned to meet the police on Thursday to set a date for the demolition. While the two were supposed to have coordinated and demolished the structure on Tuesday, the police pulled out late on Monday night.
BMC sources said this had cost the civic corporation Rs 1.5 lakh, as it had arranged for manpower and equipment. The BMC needs police protection during the demolition.
Had the BMC carried out the demolition, it would have cost Rs 5 lakh, a sum the corporation will have to again put up to complete the task. Musafirkhana, spread over 20,000 sq m, is the hub for electronic and IT goods.
The goods are exported to as far as Sri Lanka, Nepal and even north-east India. For Tuesday’s demolition, the BMC had planned to use 150 labourers, 42 engineers and 300 policemen, as also an earth-moving machine, two bulldozers, seven dumpers and gas cutters.
URL- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1815143.cms