Mumbai burial row: Police can probe, but no chargesheet till mid June in FIR against club official

MUMBAI: Bandra police informed the Bombay high court on Tuesday that it will not file a chargesheet in a First Information Report (FIR) registered against Sanjay Naik, secretary of Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) till June 16. A prosecutor A R Kapadnis made the submission before Justice S K Shinde who was hearing a quashing petition filed by Naik.
Naik’s counsel Nusrat Shah and Kevin Gala argued that the FIR was a counterblast since he had filed a petition against burial of Covid-19 positive bodies in Bandra, west, Muslim burial grounds including the Konkani Kabrastan.
Naik who fears being arrested in the “false case” said he is being pressured to surrender from his post at MCA in the wake of the “mala fide FIR” . The FIR dated May 6 was filed by Ijaz Shaikh who is a Trustee of the Konkani Muslim Cemetery alleging that Naik tried to obstruct a burial.
Naik’s petition filed through advocate Samaa Shah said the FIR was “frivolous and politically motivated’’ solely to attempt to give a civil dispute a criminal colour and as a “blackmail tactic to …pressurize him to withdraw his writ petition which challenges burials of covid-19 bodies at the cemetery.’’
Shaikh’s lawyer Kamran Shaikh argued that there was urgency in the quashing plea and since the offences Naik was booked for are all bailable he can have no fear of arrest. He refuted the allegations of “mala fide’’ intention in filing the FIR as he reasoned that the FIR is not filed against other petitioners who have also challenged the burials in the kabrastans.
The HC recorded the prosecutor's assurance in the order but however clarified that the police can proceed with investigation and adjourned matter to June 16.