In the midst of a debate over Rs 57 crore crowd-funded for INS Vikrant, BJP leader Kirit Somaiya and his son Neil have been charged with cheating

The Trombay Police have registered an offence against Somaiya and his son Neil for cheating, a day after Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut accused BJP leader Kirit Somaiya of syphoning off Rs 57 crore on the pretext of crowd-funding in 2013-14 to preserve India's first aircraft carrier INS Vikrant after it was decommissioned by the Indian Navy.

 

According to the police, former army members approached them and filed a complaint, which led to the filing of a First Information Report (FIR). Kirit Somaiya and his son have been charged with criminal breach of trust, cheating, and common intention under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.

 

According to a senior police official, the complainant, Baban Bhosale, an ex-army man, had contributed Rs. 2,000 from his hard-earned money in order to save INS Vikrant, but when he filed a Right To Information (RTI) request to find out where the funds went if they did not save the decommissioned aircraft, he discovered that no such funds had been sent to the Raj Bhavan, raising an alarm. The former army member was enraged, and he filed a complaint, which led to the filing of a case.

 

Bhosale has accused Kirit, Neil Somaiya and others of misappropriating funds collected from various parts of the city, including Churchgate, Bhandup, Mulund, Andheri and Bandra, which were allegedly never used for the purpose for which they were collected, according to his complaint.

 

The action is followed by Raut's appearance in Delhi, where he claimed that in 2013-14, a campaign led by Kirit Somaiya raised Rs. 57 crore from the public to turn INS Vikrant into a museum rather than be decommissioned, but the money, which was supposed to be deposited, never made it to the Raj Bhavan, according to a Right to Information (RTI) response.

 

 

Image Courtesy: Twitter @fpjindia