Vikrant funds case: BJP leader Kirit Somaiya, son seek pre-arrest bail

BJP leader Kirit Somaiya and his son Neil Somaiya on Saturday filed an anticipatory bail application before a sessions court here in a case pertaining to alleged misappropriation of over Rs 57 crore collected to save the decommissioned aircraft carrier Vikrant.

Earlier this week, a case was registered against them at Trombay police station in the city on the basis of a complaint lodged by a retired Army personnel.

The pre-arrest bail plea of the Somaiyas, filed through their lawyer Hrishikesh Mundargi, is likely to come up for hearing on Monday. Commissioned in 1961, INS Vikrant, a Majestic-class aircraft carrier of the Indian Navy, had played a key role in enforcing naval blockade of East Pakistan during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971. It was decommissioned in 1997. In January 2014, the ship was sold through an online auction and scrapped in November that year.

The complainant alleged that the Somaiyas had started a campaign to raise funds for saving the aircraft carrier from being scrapped and collected more than Rs 57 crore. He had donated some amount for this fund, the complainant said.

But instead of depositing the money with the office of the Maharashtra governor's secretary, the accused misappropriated the funds, the complaint alleged.

The BJP leader has denied the allegations.