Bribery case: Court denies bail to suspended Thane civic official Patole, two others

Thane, Oct 13 (PTI) The Thane sessions court has denied bail to civic official Shankar Patole and two others who have been arrested in a Rs 25 lakh bribery case being probed by the Maharashtra Anti Corruption Bureau.

In his order of October 10, details of which were made available on Monday, Additional Sessions Judge SS Shinde denied bail to Thane Municipal Corporation deputy commissioner Patole, currently under suspension, and his associates Omkar Ram Gaikar and Sushant Sanjay Surve and stressed the need for extensive investigation into the sophisticated nature of the alleged financial crime.

Patole, who was heading the TMC's Encroachment Control and Eviction Department, and Gaikar were arrested during a raid carried out by the ACB at the civic headquarters on October 1.

Real estate developer Abhijit Kadam, who holds development rights for a plot in Vishnu Nagar in Naupada, had accused Patole of seeking a bribe concerning a property development that involved the unauthorized construction of three shops. Kadam claimed he had already paid Rs 10 lakh to Patole through Surve on July 4. Surve surrendered on October 3 and was placed under arrest.

They have been charged under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

In his 21-page order, the judge said the probe was still in its nascent stages and that the investigating agency should be given sufficient opportunity to find out the money trail.

There is possibility of discovery of different offence, for which provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act will have to be applied, the court further said.

Thorough investigation is required to be carried out to find out deep rooted conspiracy for accumulation of property by accused in their own name or in the name of others as a benami, the court order said.

The court noted the high-ranking position and influence of the primary accused, Patole, concluding there was a strong possibility of him tampering with evidence and influencing witnesses if bail were granted.

The order said Patole never accepted the bribe directly, instead using co-accused Sushant Surve and Omkar Gaikar as "his agents".

He took precautions to prevent direct evidence, instructing the complainant to call only via WhatsApp on specific numbers and avoiding his personal mobile number and to use numbers registered in the names of other persons, all of which indicated a complex effort to obscure the financial trail, the court observed.

Hence, this is not a fit case to grant bail to accused, the court said. PTI COR BNM