This Article is From Mar 22, 2012

Adarsh scam: After 7 arrests, CBI to face court today

Adarsh scam: After 7 arrests, CBI to face court today
Mumbai: After arresting seven people over the last 48 hours in connection with the multi-crore Adarsh housing society scam, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will submit its status report on Thursday to the Bombay High Court.

At the last hearing on March 12, the court had pulled up the CBI for not arresting those accused in the case. "Why have you (the CBI) not arrested any of the accused yet? Are you feeling shy or are you just protecting the accused? If prima facie case is made out against anyone, then action should be taken irrespective of who that person is. Delay in such cases can be dangerous," the court had observed

The seven people arrested by the CBI after the High Court's rap are - Pradeep Vyas, a serving bureaucrat in the Maharashtra government; Major General (Retd) T K Kaul; Major General (Retd) A R Kumar; Brigadier (Retd) MM Wanchoo; RC Thakur, a retired defence estates officer; PV Deshmukh, a former Deputy Secretary in the Urban Department and Kanhaiyalal Gidwani, a former Congress MLC.

Adarsh Housing Society in south Mumbai's Colaba area was originally meant to be a six-storey structure to house Kargil War heroes and their kin. But it was later extended to 31 floors allegedly without mandatory permission. Investigations later revealed that politicians, retired Army officers and senior bureaucrats colluded to corner flats in the building.

The scam cost former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan his job. Three of his relatives were allotted flats in the high-rise. Union Ministers Sushilkumar Shinde and Vilasrao Deshmukh, who are both former Maharashtra Chief Ministers, are also under the scanner.

 
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