A social activist has filed a public interest litigation in Bombay High Court, seeking transfer of probe into suicide cases of high profile builders across Maharashtra in recent times to an independen
A social activist has filed a public interest litigation in Bombay High Court, seeking transfer of probe into suicide cases of high profile builders across Maharashtra in recent times to an independent agency like the CBI. The PIL says these deaths point towards harassment of builders at the hands of government officials and politicians.
Former scribe turned social worker Ketan Tirodkar on Wednesday filed the PIL claiming that many real estate developers have committed suicide in the recent past as they were fed up with alleged extortion by municipal officers and police. The PIL referred to various cases of suicide by builders in Mumbai and Thane district and sought that such cases be investigated by an independent agency like the CBI.
According to the PIL, Ajay Choradia, a real estate developer from Pimpri near Pune, killed himself in 2014 and wrote a suicide note blaming the “culprits”. Another developer, Suraj Parmar from Thane, shot himself dead recently. The PIL pointed out that the police cited a bank transaction of '1 crore benefiting an NCP MLA while opposing the anticipatory bail plea of the accused municipal corporators. However, the transaction “disappeared” during the investigations, it said. The PIL also spoke about the suicide of Amar Bhatia of Mohan Group who was found dead on the railway tracks of Badlapur, recently. It said though news reports said Bhatia was preparing to take his family out for an evening, the police said he messaged his intention to commit suicide and walked towards the railway track.
