No info if Shakti mills owner was summoned during gangrape probe: RTI activist

Mumbai: An RTI activist has claimed that Mumbai police could not provide any information as to whether owners of Shakti Mills premises in central Mumbai, where two gangrapes took place last year, were summoned during the investigation. The premises are in the possession of the Official Liquidator of the Bombay High Court for the last 16 years. [caption id=“attachment_1466449” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption] RTI activist Anil Galgali had filed a query under the RTI Act with the Mumbai police on October 15, 2013, seeking information about the people arrested in the two cases and action taken against the property owners for not securing the deserted premises. The Mill, defunct for the last many years, lies in the busy central Mumbai area. Sudhakar Ghagre, Senior Inspector, N M Joshi Marg police station, said in his reply that the Crime Branch was probing the case, and his station did not have information about the owner. Ghagre also stated that the land was in the possession of Official Liquidator. Galgali’s query to the Official Liquidator revealed that the High Court had ordered winding up of the Shakti Mills Ltd, and since then the possession and the responsibility of securing and maintaining the company (in liquidation) lied with the Liquidator. Galgali claimed that when he approached the crime branch, he received no information on whether the owners’ liability was looked into. According to him, it was the responsibility of the original owners and the Official Liquidator to secure the property. Had the premises been secured, the crimes could have been avoided, he says. Galgali has also sent a letter to the Chief Justice of Bombay High Court, seeking action in this regard. Sessions court has convicted a total of five persons for the two rapes. Three of them were convicted in both cases, and were sentenced to death for repeat offence today. PTI