The security officer of the forest land that caught fire earlier this week filed a complaint at Dindoshi police station on Wednesday blaming anti-social elements for setting off the blaze.
Yogesh Patkar, deputy chief security manager of the plot, said the large size of the plot made it difficult to monitor every person who entered it. Mr. Patkar, in his written complaint, said, “Taking advantage of this, people from nearby areas come inside to consume alcohol, drugs, and indulge in sexual activities. We have filed written complaints with the police in the past. The fire on December 3 is suspected to have been caused by such anti-social elements. Please conduct a detailed investigation into this.”
The plot does not fall under the Aarey Colony and is owned by the Wadia Trust, which has inked a pact to develop the land along with K Raheja Construction.
Mahendra Chande, vice-president of K Raheja Construction, said, “The Wadia Trust is the plot’s owner and we are in a joint venture to develop it. However, since there is a reservation for an IT park and the existing IT park is not in demand, we did not go ahead with any development on this plot. For years now, we have had the problem of people trespassing into our property and indulging in anti-social activities. This is despite having security guards and a five-foot-tall compound wall with barbed fencing. We have now filed a police complaint.” Mr. Chande said they wrote letters but the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation had denied them permission to build a wall near a nullah and that was the only spot on the plot that was vulnerable to trespassers.
Rajaram Vhanmane, senior police inspector at Dindoshi police station, said, “We are waiting for the fire brigade’s report. Only then will we be able to state if the fire was an act of sabotage.”
‘Don’t develop the plot’
Environmentalist D. Stalin termed the accusations an eyewash. He said, “They are laying all the blame on the locals. How can they even prevent locals from entering the plot from where the Oshiwara river flows? The State government should not allow any development here and give the firm construction rights elsewhere. It should be left as a natural area.”
Mr. Stalin has repeatedly alleged that the builder has been systematically cutting trees on the plot over the years and now there are no trees left on the land.
Meanwhile, the Forensic Sciences Laboratory in Kalina and environmentalist Shubhajit Mukherjee collected samples from the site of the fire on Thursday. Aarey Colony CEO Nathu Rathod and Sanjay Gandhi National Park director Anwar Ahmed told The Hindu that the fire had not affected their properties.