State to file ATR for recovery of security expenses from VIPs:HC

Mumbai, Nov 23 (UNI) The Bombay High Court today directed the state gobvernment to file an affidavit submitting what action is being taken to recover the outstanding amounts from persons provided with security including actors Shekhar Suman, Rakesh Roshan, Hrithik Roshan and Omkara producer Kumar Mangat.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice H S Bedi and Justice V M Kanade has directed the state to explain the basis on which security personnel is provided to the VIPs.

The court has also sought a list of persons in the categorised segment who are not charged for the security provided.

Advocate and petitioner M P Vashi also told the court that VIPs like Amitabh Bachchan, Lata Mangeshkar and Dilip Kumar were segmented as categorised for security whereas they could afford to pay for the same. At the same time huge sums were pending for recovery in the non-categorised segment including Suman, Roshans and Mangat.

He further claimed that some VIPs like Corporator Mangala Dipak Sule, who owes Rs 10,000 to state, were using security just as a status symbol.

Principal Secretary (Special) P P Srivastava also submitted before the court in his affidavit that of the outstanding sum of Rs 3.15 crores, about Rs 1.03 crores have been recovered. However, an amount of Rs 2.12 crores is yet to be recovered and his officials have been instructed to initiate recovery proceedings against the 167 persons in the non-categorised segment.

Advocate Majid Memon has to pay an outstanding sum of about Rs 2.7 lakhs while the Roshans owe Rs 70,000. Also Shekhar Suman has to pay Rs 1.07 lakhs and Mangat Rs 76,175.

The list submitted includes the commissionerates of Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Navi Mumbai, Thane (rural), Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Solapur (rural) and Parbhani.

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