File case against BJP MLA: Court tells cops
Ulhasnagar court directed the Kulgaon police in Thane district to register a case against Kisan Kathore, sitting legislator of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), senior bureaucrat RA Rajeev and eight other people for registering a village cooperative society with forged documents of some deceased members. Kathore, an MLA from Badlapur-Murbad constituency had submitted documents of four persons with their signatures (to the subregistrar office of cooperative department) even though they had died at the time of registration of Sagav Parisar Vividh Karyakari Seva Sanstha (Sagav area cooperative service society) in 2011. Kathore also made senior bureaucrat RA Rajeev a working committee member without his knowledge and with his forged signatures on an affidavit.
Justice Shailja Pandey, joint civic judge, Ulhasnagar, in the judgement stated that prima facie it reveals that the society was registered in the name of four deceased persons and to accordingly issue a process against the accused for offences punishable under Section 420 (cheating), 408 (criminal breach of trust), 467 (forgery of documents), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using a genuine a forged document) and 120-B (punishment of criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Kathore had registered the society on August 6, 2011. He is chief promoter and chairman of the society whereas Dunda Borade, Yashwant Kathore, Jaywant Padare, Bhaskar Kathore, Vasant Borade, RA Rajeev, Liuse Vaiti, Pankaj Kanodia are directors of the society.
Prabhakar Patil, complainant and director of Ulhasnagar Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC), had filed an application in the Ulhasnagar Civil Court seeking action against promotors and directors of the society under punishable sections for forging documents and listing his name as a director without his knowledge and forging his signature on the proposal to register the society. There are 73 members and Patil’s name is listed as serial number 62 in the list of registered members of the society. Patil in his plea denied having put his signature as member of the said society. “I brought this to the notice of the court through an application that I had never signed on any documents to become member of the society and that my signature was forged,” alleged Patil. He said, “I was surprised to know that some members like Tanaji Shelar, Jijabai Dhumal, Aambu Bhoir and Ramu Dohale had died before registration of the society in 2011, even though they are members of the society.”
The court in its observation said that accused number one Kisan Kathore - had sent the proposal to the district sub-registrar (co-operative) for society registration. “Perused the documents and death certificates of some members which reveals that the society was registered in their name after their death,” stated the judgement. It further stated that since the accused (Kathore) and nine others are promoters of the said society, prima facie it can be said that they have registered the society in the name of dead persons by forging their signatures.
ajeev, however on February 2, 2017 informed the joint registrar that his consent was not taken before making him a joint promoter/director of the society and clarified that he had not signed the documents. Prabhakar Patil approached the police station on April 20, 2017 to file a complaint against Kathore and other nine director, but the police are yet to take any action so he then approached the court.