Land-grab: Mankar sees Sena hand,says will file Rs 200 cr defamation suit

Mankar said he wanted to contest the Assembly elections from Kothrud which had given jitters to Shiv Sena. “The Shiv Sena was afraid of me. They new my prowess. Therefore,to get rid of me they framed me in the case. This was a well-planned act with an aim to scar my reputation built over 28 years,” he said.

Mankar said he would be filing Rs 200 crore defamation suit against a few Shiv Sena leaders inlcuding Neelam Gorhe and city unit chief Shyam Deshpande. “I never made any allegations against them. I never met Neelam Gorhe. Yet they forced Natu to falsely implicate me in the case and tried to ruin my career. But they have not succeeded in doing so. The court has acquitted me as the charges of land grabbing levelled against me turned out to be false,” he said. When contacted,Gorhe said,”Let him file the case,we will see…”

Mankar said some TV channels went all-out to defame him. “The channels repeatedly projected me as a land mafia. One channel showed me 45 times. Without even verifying the facts,they were acting as the prosecutor and the jury,” he said.

Bhosale said they received the copy of the court judgement on November 23 and thought it fit to tell people how a person’s life can be ruined through false charges. “Mankar had the capability to defend himself. There are several others who have no wherewithals to fight false cases. They remain in jail for years,” he said. Bhosale said police also acted under pressure. “Pressure was put on them to get Mankar implicated.”

Recollecting his jail stay,Mankar said he was kept in the “aanda” cell. Mankar spent 6 months in jail. His bail plea was rejected by the high court,but approved by the Supreme Court.

Mankar said his family suffered alot during this time as all their accounts were sealed. “Even false cases were slapped against my driver,” he said. He said Congress leaders distanced themselves from him. “My friends and family stood strongly behind me,” he said.