INS Vikrant case: BJP leader Kirit Somaiya, son Neil summoned by EOW on Wednesday

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The Mumbai police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has summoned Maharashtra BJP leader Kirit Somaiya and his son Neil on Wednesday in connection with a cheating case registered against them, an official said on Tuesday.

The father-son duo has been asked to join probe into the case related to alleged misappropriation of over Rs 57 crore collected in the name of saving the decommissioned naval aircraft carrier INS Vikrant from getting scrapped and converting it into a museum nine years ago, he said.

Kirit Somaiya and his son have been asked to remain present before the investigating officer of the case at 11 am, the official said.

A notice, issued under section 41 (1) (A) of the CrPC (participation in probe of an individual against whom a complaint has been made), was pasted at their residence in Mulund, seeking their presence before the investigating officer, he said.

The cheating case, registered on a complaint of a former Army man, was lodged last week at the Trombay Police Station. The father-son duo has been booked under IPC sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating) and 34 (common intention).

The case was initially investigated by Unit 6 of the general cheating branch of the city police and later transferred to the EOW, he said.

A sessions court has rejected the anticipatory bail applications of Kirit Somaiya and his son Neil Somaiya in the case.

The former Lok Sabha MP from Mumbai has refuted the charges against him and his son, and said he will approach the Bombay High Court in the matter.

The case was registered against the father-son duo on the basis of a complaint filed by a former Army personnel at Trombay police station. Fearing arrest, both had sought pre-arrest bail.

Commissioned in 1961, INS Vikrant, a Majestic-class aircraft carrier of the Indian Navy, had played a key role in enforcing the naval blockade of East Pakistan during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971. It was decommissioned in 1997. In January 2014, the ship was sold through an online auction and scrapped in November that year.

The complainant alleged that Somaiya had started a campaign to raise funds to save the ship from being scrapped and he had donated some money for this fund.

The BJP leader collected more than Rs 57 crore, but instead of depositing the amount with the office of the Maharashtra governor, he misappropriated the funds, the complainant alleged.

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