PWD man gets 7 yrs for graft
In Another Corruption Case, Court Sentences Cop To 2 Yrs
Two officials, one from the state Public Works Department (PWD) and
the other from the Mumbai police, were sentenced to jail in two separate
cases of corruption on Monday.
In the first instance, Babasaheb Bajirao Patil, a PWD section officer
working at Mantralaya, was sentenced to an unprecedented seven years in jail
and fined Rs 1 lakh by a special sessions court. The stiff sentence came
after public prosecutor Dileep Shah cited judgments of the supreme court
saying corruption is a social evil that must be dealt with very strictly by
the judiciary.
According to the apex court, corrupt government servants should not be
let off with mild sentences but should be given prison terms which act as a
deterrent for others. Judge D B Pujari could have sentenced the PWD official
to a minimum of one year in prison but he chose to give him the longest jail
term possible under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
According to information, Patil had demanded money to issue a
reinstatement letter to a suspended PWD employee. Keshavrao Thorat, who was
posted in Nashik, was suspended from service in 1991 but was ordered to be
reinstated by a labour court in 1998. For three years, Thorat kept sending
applications to Mantralaya to get his reinstatement orders but in vain. In
2001, citing illhealth, he asked his son-in-law, Rajesh Bindra, to pursue
the matter.
On December 7, 2001, Patil told Bindra to give him Rs 15,000 for the
letter. He also said that Thorat stood to gain Rs 1,50,000 of his arrears if
Bindra paid the bribe. Bindra then informed the anti-corruption bureau (ACB)
of Mumbai police and Patil was arrested by laying a trap on December 8,
2001.
The long prison term also meant that Patil was immediately taken to
prison after the sentencing and would now have to approach the Bombay high
court for bail. In cases where the jail term exceeds three years the convict
can be granted bail only by the high court.
In the other case, N B Patil, a sub-inspector attached to Pydhonie
police station, was sentenced to two years in prison by judge V B Rothe.
Patil had received a complaint from a woman called Sushila Chheda saying
another woman, Pritika Ambore, had taken Rs 23 lakh from her as a loan and
not returned the amount. Patil then called Ambore to the police station and
demanded Rs 5 lakh to settle the dispute between her and Chheda. After
negotiations, the bribe amount was reduced to Rs 25,000.
On December 3, 1998, Patil called the two women first to Dahisar and
then took them to the lock-up of Santa Cruz police station where he
allegedly helped them reach a compromise. Two days later he asked Ambore to
come to Copper Chimney restaurant in Worli to pay the bribe amount. She
informed the ACB and Patil was arrested. Chheda later denied that she ever
had a financial dispute with Ambore. Judge Rothe also fined the inspector Rs
10,000 for the crime.