Hearing on bail plea of BMC officials adjourned till Mar 6

Mumbai, Mar 2 (UNI) Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) Judge Ashok Bhangale today adjourned till March six, the hearing on a bail plea of two BMC officials in the case of unauthorised construction of the twin 'Sara&Sahara' shopping complex at Crawford Market in South Mumbai.

Two BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) officials -- Assistant Commissioner Kiran Achrekar and Assistant Engineer Shirish Salvekar -- filed the bail application before the MCOCA court in view of a clean chit given to them by the high-powered BMC committee.

However, public prosecutor Rohini Salian sought time till Monday to file her reply on the committee report.

Arguing on behalf of the accused, defence counsel Nilesh Pawaskar prayed for their bail since the high-powered committee, set to inquire into their involvement in the construction of the twin shopping complex, had exonerated them and had recommended their reinstatement.

The Sara and Sahara commercial complex, allegedly owned by Dawood Ibrahim, was built illegally on land belonging to CPWD, which was reserved for a municipal school.

However, the accused obtained permission, allegedly in connivance with the BMC officials, and constructed 380 shops and 70 storage rooms in the twin complex.

Of the eleven accused, nine have been arrested so far in connection with the case. The remaining two wanted accused--Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar and Shaikh Babu Chhota Shakeel are presently residing in Pakistan.

Last week, the court had framed charges against the accused -- Abdul Rehman Shaikh, Abdul Sattar, Iqbal Hassan Ibrahim Kaskar, Tariq Parveen and Gulab Nabi and civic employees--Kiran Achrekar, Shirish Salvekar, Narendra Rajbhar and Hasmukh Shah.

The trial against them will resume from March nine before the MCOCA court.

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