BETTER STAY AWAY FROM PREETMANDIR, Mr BHASIN

Kaumudi Gurjar

Special CBI judge takes serious note of MiD DAY expose, tells Preetmandir former managing trustee J S Bhasin not to violate court order again by entering orphanage premises

LESS than four months since a MiD DAY sting operation at the Preetmandir orphanage showed former managing trustee J S Bhasin violating a court order that had restrained him from entering the Preetmandir premises, Special CBI Judge D R Mahajan took serious note of the MiD DAY expose and warned Bhasin against repeating the act.

It may be recalled that even as the Preetmandir controversy over allegations of financial irregularities and child trafficking was raging and the case was being heard in courtrooms, MiD DAY had found Bhasin in the office of the adoption home.

A MiD DAY reporter posing as a prospective adoptive parent had photographed Bhasin seated in the orphanage with other office staff, flipping through office files.

Special CBI Judge Mahajan took notice of the report and, while hearing the application filed by employees of the trust who had earlier pointed out that Bhasin was interfering in day- to- day matters of the trust, directed him to neither enter the office nor intervene in the proceedings and working of the trust.

The complainant in the case has filed an application requesting the court that the case of alleged trafficking of grandchildren of one Kisabai Lokhande from Ahmednagar be further investigated by CBI teams who have already filed a chargesheet on the financial irregularities and child trafficking from Preetmandir under Section 173( 8) of the CrPC. The court postponed the hearing on this matter after CBI public prosecutor Manoj Chaladan sought time to file a reply on this case.

A criminal writ petition against Preetmandir was filed by Sakhee Pune and Advait Foundation Mumbai in 2006 demanding CBI investigation in financial irregularities, kidnapping and corruption cases.

Bhasin was granted conditional bail in August 2010 on medical grounds.

A CBI team filed a chargesheet on March 11 this year against Preetmandir former MD, former CARA chairperson J K Mittal and four people who had also procured anticipatory bail.