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Mumbai: Guruswaroop Srivastva who shot to fame when
he commissioned M F Husain to paint the Planet Earth
series for a promised Rs 100 crore – a deal that
soured midway when Swaroop was arrested for forgery,
accused by his Chartered Accountants, for getting the
loan to buy his residential apartment – is again
in trouble.
The Bombay high court on Tuesday admitted a petition
filed by Srivastava, questioning a "certificate"
issued by the police to enable NAFED officers to recover
Rs 190 crore from him. The court stayed the effect of
the certificate.
The steel magnate has accused NAFED chairman Ajit
Kumar Singh and several senior officials of abusing
and assaulting him in a Juhu hotel room over three weeks
ago.
Srivastava has now dragged senior inspector N Jadhav
of Oshiwara police station to the high court for "illegally"
certifying on December 22, 2005, that his liability
to NAFED was Rs 190 crore and "authorising"
the officers of the federation to enter his premises
to recover the amount and seize documents.
The issue before the court is about the powers of
a police inspector to adjudicate a disputed civil claim
and authorise unhindered access into private property,
the advocate for Srivastava said.
The government lawyer said the police were only trying
to facilitate recovery of public funds.
Srivastava said he had returned Rs 100 crore to NAFED
for the loan he had taken for his iron ore business.
But he contended that on December 15 last year, Singh
called him to a Juhu hotel and asked him to pay Rs 50
crore immediately after first assaulting him. His petition
stated that Singh threatened him to cough up at least
Rs 10 crore the next day failing which he would be beaten
up more.
Srivastava said he lodged a complaint on December
19 with the Santa Cruz police alleging "wrongful
confinement, assault and extortion". He said he
even filed another complaint with the Oshiwara police
on December 20 requesting action. However, instead of
probing his complaint, he said, the Oshiwara police
inspector issued the "certificate in favour of
NAFED" on his "personal letter head with the
seal of the police station without any inward/outward
number". Flaunting the police go-ahead, he said,
A K Bansal, a NAFED officer, entered his office.
Srivastava's grouse is that despite asking the cop
under what authority of law had he issued such a certificate,
he has received no response. Meanwhile, worried NAFED
officers were also present in the high court and sought
to intervene.
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