Mumbai: The complainant in the ‘Pressure Cooker Scam’ worth Rs. 12.50 crore has demanded the police to immediately book Dilip Lande and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation officials for hatching a criminal conspiracy and misappropiration of government property. Advocate Nikhil Kamble who had written a complaint to the BMC and Saki Naka police which resulted into a probe, has demanded an immediate first information report in the case after the pictures of MLA Dilip Lande’s name engraved on the pressure cookers have surfaced.
On August 13, The Free Press Journal had highlighted the ‘Pressure Cooker Scam’ in Mumbai’s ‘L’ ward (Kurla, Chandivali, Saki Naka), where 50,000 cookers procured by the BMC for distribution among below poverty line (BPL) citizens in the ward, were distributed by the local MLA Lande under party banner. Saki Naka police station had started a probe into this matter which also alleged that the BMC procured the cookers at four times higher cost than retail market price.
While the residents of Chandivali had alleged that the cookers belonging to the BMC were distributed by Lande with his name engraved on them, pictures showing his name on the cookers have also surfaced. On Sunday, Kamble wrote to the Saki Naka police station and the deputy commissioner of police (zone-5) to immediately file an FIR against Lande and other BMC officials for hatching a criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust by public servant, dishonestly misappropriating movable property and other sections.
“The illegal procurement and subsequent transfers of these pressure cookers into the hands of Mr. Lande is not just a case of breach of trust but part of a larger criminal conspiracy. This conspiracy was orchestrated with the objective of defrauding public resources under the guise of serving the poor and needy. The unlawful possession of public property by Mr. Lande, facilitated by the corrupt practices of BMC officials, highlights a premeditated plan to misappropriate public property for personal use,” the complaint stated.
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Kamble has also demanded that the matter should be investigated by the Crime Branch of Mumbai Police to uncover the full extent of the criminal conspiracy and hold all responsible parties accountable. The letter also demands that the pressure cookers should be recovered from the illegal possession of the MLA and his associates along with recovering the cookers distributed to ineligible persons.
Speaking to The Free Press Journal, Kamble said, “The MLA engraved his name on the pressure cookers and made impression in public that those cookers were his personal property. However, the said pressure cookers are BMC-owned public property. The public representative’s intention was clearly to deceive the public by creating a facade of welfare while secretly misappropriating public funds. The BMC officials who facilitated this have inflicted a substantial harm on the public exchequer. Therefore, all of these people should be booked for a cognisable offence.”
