Mumbai: Siddhivinayak Temple VVIP darshan racketeer denied anticipatory bail

Flower seller Jitesh Baliram Chandvekar (right), who facilitated mid-day reporters’ entry into the Siddhivinayak sanctum for a fee in October last year

The high court has denied anticipatory bail to Jitesh Baliram Chandvekar, a suspect in the Siddhivinayak VVIP darshan racket, which was exposed by mid-day, on January 15. The police informed the court that Chandvekar, a flower seller, and others had cheated scores of devotees, and it was necessary to keep them under arrest to determine the total number of victims and recover their money.

On October 2 last year, mid-day revealed how flower vendors, with the help of temple employees, were helping some devotees bypass the queue by offering VVIP darshan for a hefty fee. Chandvekar accepted Rs 3,000 from undercover reporters in return for his services. The Dadar police are now planning to arrest more than four to five other suspects. The Dadar cops registered an FIR under Sections 420 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code against unknown individuals on a complaint from the Siddhivinayak temple trust manager after mid-day's exposé was published.

The Siddhivinayak temple trust told police that they found evidence of flower vendors taking money from devotees after promising to facilitate VVIP darshan. File pic

The temple trust told the police that on examining CCTV camera footage, they found evidence of flower vendors taking money from devotees after promising to facilitate VVIP darshan. The temple authorities also learnt that none of the VVIP darshan fees had reached its coffers. The footage was submitted to the police along with the complaint. The FIR states that the flower vendors were cheating the temple and looting devotees in the name of the temple trust.

Courtroom arguments

Chandvekar's advocate told the police that his client was willing to deposit Rs 3,000 and was ready to cooperate with the investigation. The advocate argued that for such a "minor offence", the applicant's custodial interrogation was not necessary. However, the prosecution opposed these submissions, stating that Chandvekar's misdeeds had been captured on video on one particular occasion, but there were various other instances where he had duped devotees. "There is clear evidence of money, which was paid by the reporters, being transferred into a bank account. Therefore, his involvement is evident, and it is necessary to put an end to these activities," the police's lawyer said.

The verdict

Judge Sarang V Kotwal stated that this was not an isolated incident. "The applicant [Chandvekar] has not provided an explanation as to why he accepted the amount of Rs 3,000 [from mid-day's reporters]. It can only be assumed that it was for allowing the reporters inside the temple for darshan, bypassing the queue. Thus, it is clear that the applicant and others were illegally collecting money without authorisation. They not only cheated the devotees but also the temple trust, affecting law and order in the crowded area. The money taken by the accused has been misappropriated and not paid to the trust. The money was taken in the name of the trust because only the temple trust has the authority to regulate the queuing process and darshan," the judge observed.

He added, "All these activities need to be curbed. It is necessary to identify the applicant's associates and recover the illegally collected amount. The applicant's custodial interrogation is necessary to gather more details about these activities. Considering all the circumstances, I am not inclined to grant protection under Section 438 of the CrPC to him. The application is accordingly rejected." Investigation officer PSI Gaurav Tawar said, "The high court rejected the anticipatory bail application of the suspected accused, who was captured in videos. We have not arrested the accused yet, but we will take appropriate action very soon."

Rs 3000
Amount paid to Chandvekar