In a setback to Congress leader Kripashankar Singh, the Supreme Court, hearing the disproportionate assets case against him and his family members, directed the Mumbai Police’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) to finish its probe in eight weeks and submit a final report.
The SIT, headed by the Mumbai Police Commissioner, has so far submitted two sealed reports to the court.
“Kripashankar Singh and his family had appealed to the Supreme Court to dispose of the matter and let the magistrate decide. But we told the court that the investigation is still not complete and that there is need for monitoring. The court agreed. It has directed the SIT to complete the investigation within eight weeks and file a final report before the court,” Mihir Desai, senior counsel for the petitioner whose Public Interest Litigation petition had prompted the Bombay High Court to order Mr. Singh’s prosecution, told The Hindu on Monday from New Delhi.
He said they had appealed to the Supreme court that the team investigating the cases against the family should remain the same, though the Police Commissioner had changed. Earlier, the investigation was headed by Arup Patnaik, who has been transferred after the August 11 violence in Mumbai’s Azad Maidan area.
The position is now held by Dr. Satyapal Singh. “The court agreed to that as well,” he said.
Strong evidence
Mr. Singh and his family members have been accused of amassing disproportionate assets worth tens of crores of rupees. When the PIL petition was filed in the Bombay High Court, it observed that it could not ignore the evidence against the politician and his wife.
The PIL petition had given a list of 15 properties, including lavish flats in upscale localities of the city, huge commercial complexes in the city and in other parts of the country, including Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh. The court observed that a large part of the real estate was purchased by the family only after Mr. Singh became a politician.
