The Bombay High Court bench of Justice Sarang Kotwal, on Thursday, denied anticipatory bail to a policeman, who demanded over Rs 1 crore to ensure the admission of a man's sons in a private medical college. The bench noted that the accused's wife claimed she had close contact with influential politicians and he himself claimed that he works for Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).
The bench was dealing with a plea filed by Nagesh Pawar, who sought anticipatory bail.
According to the Tilak Nagar police station, which is investigating the case, Pawar, his wife and one Dinesh defrauded the complainant Vashdev Khithani to the tune of Rs 1.60 crore.
Khithani wanted to get both his son's admitted to a medical college for a postgraduate course. He stated, in the FIR, that his sons didn't get admission to any college. He approached Dinesh, who said that he will have to pay Rs 1.60 crore to get his sons admitted to a renowned institution.
As per the police, Khithani paid the entire amount in separate installments. Some amount was paid in cash and some was paid through a demand draft. After paying the entire amount, he learned that he was duped by Dinesh, Pawar and his wife, who refused to get any seat for his sons in any of the colleges. He claimed that after a lot of struggle, Dinesh only returned Rs 50 lakh. The remaining amount, Dinesh claimed, was used by Pawar and his wife.
Pawar, through his counsel, argued that Khithani cannot now agitate, as he had paid the amount to illegally get admissions. Having heard the contentions, Justice Kotwal said, "The applicant (Pawar) and other accused cannot take shelter under the argument that the money was accepted for illegal purposes. More important feature in this case is the deliberate false representation made by him and his wife. She had claimed that she was in close contact with the management and had accepted money to secure admission."
"At that time, it was revealed to the informant that Pawar was working with RAW. The investigation has revealed that the applicant was working with the police department. His wife had no authority to collect money on behalf of the management. The entire representation was fraudulent right from the inception," the judge held.
The judge further noted that Khithani had even mortgaged his properties and even availed loans from various banks and his relatives to pay Rs 1.60 crore. "The informant (Khithani) was obviously cheated. I am unable to accept Pawar's arguments that no offence is made out, as the money was handed over for illegal purpose. After cheating a person and after misappropriating a huge amount, the applicant certainly cannot take this stand. The offence is committed, which requires investigation," Justice Kotwal held while refusing pre-arrest bail to Pawar.
