Hasan Ali's aide Tapuriah gets 3-month bail on health ground

Two years after his arrest in a money laundering case, Kashinath Tapuriah, Kolkata-based businessman and a close aide of Hasan Ali, has been granted temporary bail for three months by the Bombay High Court on medical ground.
The bail was granted by Justice S C Dharmadhikari to Tapuriah on the surety of Rs 50,000 on April 26 on condition that he would not leave Mumbai without the permission of the court.
77-year-old Tapuriah, arrested in March 2011 under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), had sought liberty for undergoing treatment in a private hospital, Cumballa Hill, in downtown Mumbai.
According to Enforcement Directorate (ED), Tapuriah had allegedly accompanied Hasan Ali to Singapore in 1997 to operate his Swiss Bank accounts where black money was parked.

ED further alleged in the trial court that Hasan Ali gave Tapuriah power of attorney to use his Swiss accounts.
It is also the contention of ED that Tapuriah had helped Hasan Ali to procure a fake passport in 1997 which the latter had used to travel to Singapore.

The Judge noted, "I am of the opinion that there is no reason to discard medical reports (of Tapuriah)."
"The applicant is a known case of Myasthenia gravis, Ischaemic heart disease with stent angioplasty, atrophy of brain, dislocation of right shoulder, mild prostatomegali and frequent urinary tract infection and respiratory tract infection," said a report of Chief Medical Officer, Mumbai Central Prison, which was forwarded to the trial court.

"He (Tapuriah) had been referred to JJ Hospital for treatment so many times, but it did not provide long term relief. He has effectively lost control over passage of his urine and stool, either due to neurological problems or old age," the judge said.
"Besides, the surgical intervention is not done by the doctors at JJ Hospital due to old age. He is also losing his balance and sometimes total blackout. He requires long term nursing care and multi-speciality treatment," the judge noted.