HC orders magisterial probe against Cong ex-chief

The Bombay High Court on Thursday ordered a magisterial inquiry against former Mumbai Congress chief Kripaashankar Singh, with regard to allegations made by a social worker that the political leader had been threatening him with dire consequences after usurping his land.

Singh is already facing an Anti-Corruption Bureau probe for acquiring assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. The latest salvo comes from Tulsidas Nair, who in his petition has alleged that the Congress leader and his son have grabbed properties worth crores of rupees and were now issuing grave threats to him so as to usurp his house in north-western suburb Kalina.

A division bench of justices V M Kanade and P D Kode, after hearing the petition and scrutinising the photographs submitted in the court, directed the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate to carry out an inquiry into the allegations and submit a report before the court within two weeks.

The court also instructed the State Human Rights Commission to inquire into the case and remarked, “If we notice that something is amiss, we will pass strictures against the police concerned and somebody will lose his job.”