Mumbai cops grill Maharashtra Legislative Council LOP Pravin Darekar over false declaration to bank

A fortnight after questioning Maharashtra’s Leader of Opposition in Assembly Devendra Fadnavis, the Mumbai Police has grilled his counterpart in the Council, Pravin Darekar was vis-a-vis a false declaration that the MLC had given to a co-operative bank.

The MRA Marg police station in Mumbai had summoned Darekar in connection with a case registered on March 14 based on a complaint by Aam Aadmi Party state general secretary Dhananjay Shinde.

According to the complaint and FIR, Darekar had allegedly used bogus membership of a labour organisation to get directorship at the Mumbai District Central Cooperative Bank Ltd.

“I will cooperate with the police…if need be I would join the probe again…I have answered whatever was sought to the best of my knowledge,” Darekar said emerging from the questioning that lasted for a few hours.

According to Darekar, there is tremendous pressure on the police. “The police commissioner (Sanjay Pandey) himself was monitoring the investigations…there was pressure from his side, it appeared so,” he said.

Senior BJP leader Prasad Lad said that all party workers are firmly and strongly behind Darekar.

The FIR was registered against Darekar under sections 199 (false statement made in declaration which is by law receivable as evidence), 200 (using as true such declaration knowing it to be false), 420 (cheating), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 465 (punishment for forgery), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 120 B(criminal conspiracy), and other sections of the Indian Penal Code.

It may be recalled that Fadnavis’ statement was recorded by the Bandra Kurla Complex cyber police station last month under section 160 CrPC in connection with a case of breach of Official Secrets Act, 1923 in the phone tapping case involving the transfers/posting scam.

Even as the central agencies are targeting leaders of the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi dispensation, there is pressure within the three parties — Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress — to act against BJP leaders, who have cases against them.

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