The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai police has again given a clean chit to BJP leader and former MP Kirit Somaiya and his son and filed a C-Summary report before the court after conducting a ‘re-investigation’ into the alleged swindling of funds collected for the restoration of INS Vikrant, the Indian Navy’s first aircraft carrier.
Sources in EOW on Sunday confirmed that a C-Summary report was filed by the agency last month before a city magistrate court. The same magistrate court in August had expressed dissatisfaction over the way the police had conducted an investigation in the matter and rejected their closure report.
The court had then observed that the investigating officer of the case had not looked into what was done with the amount collected by the Somaiyas during collection drives conducted in Mumbai in 2013-14.
The investigating officer has then informed the court that 38 witness statements of people who had contributed money at a drive held at Churchgate station were recorded during the probe. The officer said that Rs 10,000 was collected from contributors during the one-hour drive. He also submitted that it was impossible that Rs 57 crore was collected as the drive was held for such a short span. The officer further said that on the same day, Somaiya went to meet the governor, but he was not present, and hence he could not meet him.
The court did not buy the findings by the probe agency and made several sharp observations, including saying that the investigator has not done an investigation as to what has been done by the accused with the amount collected by the accused persons. It was claimed that the collected money was handed over to the governor’s office. But the probe agency could not trace the money trail.
After this, the court had in August directed the agency to re-investigate the case properly. After re-investigating the case and recording the statements of more witnesses, including officials from Raj Bhavan, and verifying documents, the EOW again filed a C-Summary report before the court last month, giving clean chit to both the accused, confirmed an EOW source.
A ‘C-Summary’ report is filed when, after the thorough investigation of the facts, it has been ascertained that the complaint is neither true nor false or the offence is of civil nature.
The case
In 2022, a cheating complaint was filed at the Trombay police station by an ex-Armyman claiming that a donation drive was started by Kirit Somaiya in 2013 to prevent INS Vikrant from being scrapped. The complaint said that Somaiya, Neil, and others had collected funds by setting up donation boxes in various locations in the city.
The complainant said that due to the significance of INS Vikrant, including its contribution to the 1971 war, he contributed Rs 2,000. But, in 2014, he learnt that the warship was scrapped and auctioned to a company for Rs 57 crore.
The complaint said that Somaiya had tweeted that he had written a letter to the governor in 2013 on the contribution Mumbaikars were ready to make. The complaint alleged that the governor’s office, in a reply, said that in 2013-14, no money was received from Somaiya.
The EOW filed a summary closure report stating that the investigation revealed that the crime comes under the category of neither true nor false and was filed due to a misunderstanding.
In 2022, a special court had rejected anticipatory bail to the Somaiyas in the case. Somaiya had said that only Rs 10,000 was collected and that it was handed over to the governor. They were then granted relief from arrest by the Bombay High Court.