Kalina land grabber seeks anticipatory bail

With the police finally investigating the Kalina bungalow-grabbing case in earnest, wanted accused Prem Chandran has moved court with an anticipatory bail application (ABA). This comes a little over a fortnight after mid-day first exposed how Chandran and his accomplice Abid Ali Mushtaque Tanaji allegedly took over another man's bungalow while he was in prison. Yesterday, this paper also reported similar allegations levelled against him by another victim who said Chandran had usurped her home and land in the same locality.

Following the mid-day's report on the matter, the Vakola police were forced into action, and they arrested the main accused, Tanaji, on Friday. He was produced in Bandra court on Tuesday and the court sent him to judicial custody.

Chandran's ABA will be heard on January 21. Meanwhile, the court has not granted interim relief to the accused. Officers from the Vakola police station were present at all the gates of the sessions to court in south Mumbai to nab Chandran, but were unable to find him.

The bungalow owner, Roque D'Souza, had earlier also alleged that the Vakola police were hand in glove with the accused. Their failure to catch Chandran led D'Souza's lawyer to question why the case had not been transferred to another police station. The lawyer, Prashant Pandey, has written to DCP Zone VIII, requesting for transfer of the case.

Pandey said, "I have sent an application to the zonal DCP to transfer the case to some other police station as the investigation by Vakola police raises serious questions. After Abid Ali's arrest, the bungalow is yet to be sealed, and the Chinese kitchen is still functioning there."

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