Thane: Corporators among 13 convicted in graft case

A special court today sentenced 13 people, including two sitting corporators and former officers of Thane Municipal Corporation, to three-year rigorous imprisonment in a corruption case.
Anti-Corruption Bureau judge K R Warrier also imposed a fine of Rs 15,000 on each of them.
The case relates to wrongful award of tender for supply of bus bodies. Police had arrested 16 people of which three died in the intervening years.
In 1991, the Civic Transport Committee had decided to procure 30 buses and bids were called for supply of bus bodies. According to the prosecution, higher bids were selected, causing a loss of about Rs 30 lakh to the corporation.

As the case dragged on, it was heard by as many as 18 judges. Three lawyers associated with the case died during this period.
While pronouncing the punishment, the court did not accept the argument by defence counsels Hemant Sawant and Baldev Rajput that leniency should be showed because all the accused were now old and one of them -- 80-year-old Mukund Kelkar -- had a leg amputated.

Those convicted includes sitting corporators Vilas Samant (Shiv Sena) and Sudha Chavan (MNS), and former corporators Gangaram Indise, Deoram Bhoir, Denis Dsouza, Deepak Deshmukh, and Madan Mantri -- all of whom were members of transport committee when the contracts were awarded.

Indise is also a leader of Republican Party of India (United).
Other convicts are TMC Transport Manager Arvind alias Vishnu Agashe, Deputy Transport Manager Kamlakar Dixit and Workshop Manager Mukund Kelkar; contractors Dileep Chopra, Managing Director, Starlines; Sitaram Ambekar of Trimurti Body Builders, and Ashok Dingrani of Incoach Body Builders.
Three accused -- corporators Ram Nayan Yadav and Ramchandara Thakur and auditor Madhusudan Apte -- had died during the trial.
Prosecution was conducted by advocate Hemlata Chavan.