File-tampering case: BMC opposes bail application of 4 accused

The accused, while arguing for bail, had claimed that Mehta himself had written the noting and it wasn’t tampered with. In the application, opposing the pre-arrest bail, the BMC claimed that the manipulation of the note “has violated the sanctity of the office”. “It is obvious that someone else has tried to change the nature of direction in a completely contrary manner than what was intended,” the plea says.

Earlier, CPP JV Desai had submitted that since the noting of the document pertained to the developer, it prima facie showed that the accused were interested parties and had an intention to tamper with the file. Countering the argument of the advocates of the accused regarding their names not being included in the FIR initially, it was said that the clerk, who had filed the FIR, was himself made an accused in the case. “The initial complainant (Swapnil Puranik, now in judicial custody), had reason not to disclose the names of suspects as he was complicit in the offence,” Pasbola submitted.

The names of Gyanprakash Shukla, the developer, his relatives, Nikhil and Prabhakar Shukla and another person, Brahmadev Pandey, were subsequently added to the FIR after Puranik’s arrest. The name of Subhash Walmiki, a peon with the BMC, was also added. The BMC in its plea said that Walmiki died “under mysterious circumstances” on June 1. The court will continue to hear the arguments on Saturday.