Police plan to hand over bungalow to Kalina man

Roque D’Souza stands outside his bungalow after being released from jail, in Kalina, on Tuesday night. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

Divisional Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Shripad Kale on Thursday said that action will be taken against the policemen allegedly involved in the Rs 50-crore Kalina bungalow grabbing case. The ACP added that he will also approach the executive magistrate for handing over of the property to its legal custodian. He was speaking to mid-day hours after this paper's report on the struggles of Roque D'Souza, 63, whose bungalow in Kalina has been taken over by the land mafia.

"All the accused will be dealt with an iron hand. We are also examining the involvement of a policeman who allegedly helped the land grabbers illegally acquire the bungalow. We have recorded the statements of both D'Souza and Abid Ali Mushtaque Tanaji (the land grabber)," Kale said.

mid-day had last year reported the alleged involvement of Kherwadi division ACP Kailash Avhad, who was then the senior inspector of Vakola police station. Avhad had allegedly forced D'Souza's sister-in-law Jacinta Mascerenhas to hand over the bungalow's keys to his brother Joseph, in front of land grabbers Abid Ali Mushtaque Tanaji and Chandran in 2018.

At the time of getting the keys from Mascerenhas, Avhad had asked Joseph to write him a letter, a copy of which is in mid-day's possession. The letter, dated June 29, 2018, and undersigned by Joseph and Chandran, reads: "This is to inform you sir that I have received the house keys but I am not responsible if any important documents or gold or fixed deposits are there or not."

ACP Kale is also planning to approach the executive magistrate, i.e. the zonal deputy commissioner of police, to impose Section 145 of the CrPC. "I will impose Section 145 of the CrPC to take the bungalow in our possession, thereafter, it will be handed over to its legal custodian [D'souza] to end the dispute," Kale told mid-day.

What is Section 145

The section reads: Whenever an executive magistrate is satisfied from a report of a police officer or upon other information that a dispute likely to cause a breach of the peace exists concerning any land or water or the boundaries thereof, within his local jurisdiction, he shall make an order in writing, stating the grounds of his being so satisfied, and requiring the parties concerned in such dispute to attend his court in person or by pleader, on a specified date and time, and to put in written statements of their respective claims as respects the fact of actual possession of the subject of dispute.

Advocate Prashant Pandey, D'Souza's counsel, told mid-day, "The Vakola police could have returned the property to my client had they arrested the accused in the land grabbing case a few years back." "It's unfortunate that the innocent has to prove his innocence... My client proved it in criminal trial by getting acquittal [in murder case].

Now it's time for the executive to act immediately to show that the law is to protect the weak and ensure that Abid Ali is not only punished, but also pays a penalty for illegally grabbing the property, and also show that the police will stand with the weak this time. I believe that truth will prevail," Pandey said.