Suraj Parmar suicide: Police form SIT to probe financial angle in Thane builder's death

Thane (Maharashtra): The Thane police on Thursday formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by an ACP to probe the financial dealings of the four arrested corporators in connection with the builder Suraj Parmar suicide case. A notification to this effect was issued late on Thursday by Joint Commissioner of Police Ashutosh Dhumre. The SIT will be headed by the Additional Commissioner of Police Crime Makarand Ranade and will include ACP Dileep Gore (who is currently the investigating officer in the case) and also Bharat Shelke, who has served the ACB in the past. Thane police also appointed eminent lawyer Raja Thakare as the special public prosecutor in the case. [caption id=“attachment_2623272” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. AFP[/caption] The four accused corporators of Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC)– Najeeb Mulla and Hanumant Jagdale (both NCP), Vikrant Chavan (Congress) and Sudhakar Chavan (Maharashtra Navnirman Sena) have been charged under section 306 of the IPC and also various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act and are currently behind bars. Parmar, a leading builder, shot himself on 7 October, 2015. His suicide note alleged that a nexus of corporators and officials was harassing him for bribes. Thane Police had registered a case of abetment of suicide under IPC and criminal misconduct under Prevention of Corruption Act as the purported suicide note named these four corporators. The prosecution said that the corporators have been named in the suicide note written by Parmar, who also blamed the system and red tape besides the interference and harassment by the civic officials and politicians. PTI