INS Vikrant cheating case: BJP leader Kirit Somaiya’s son gets interim protection from arrest
The former MP and his son have been booked for allegedly siphoning off funds amounting to over Rs 57 crore to restore the Indian Navy’s first aircraft carrier.
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday granted interim protection from arrest till April 28 to Neil Somaiya, son of BJP leader Kirit Somaiya, in the INS Vikrant corruption case on Wednesday, PTI reported.
He is being investigated along with his father, a former MP, for allegedly siphoning off funds worth Rs 57 crore that had been collected to restore INS Vikrant, the Indian Navy’s first aircraft carrier.
Neil Somaiya and Kirit Somaiya had filed for pre-arrest bail on April 9 after the Mumbai Police filed a criminal case against them based on a complaint by 53-year-old former Army officer Baban Bhosle.
According to the complaint, Kirit Somaiya had started a campaign between 2013 and 2014 to raise funds to restore the aircraft carrier. However, the money raised was not deposited with the Maharashtra governor’s secretary office but siphoned off into his own business.
Kirit Somaiya and Neil Somaiya were charged with Indian Penal Code sections on cheating, criminal breach of trust and acts done with common intention.
Justice Prabhudessai on Wednesday directed Neil Somaiya to appear before the police from April 25 to April 28 for questioning, PTI reported.
The court posted the duo’s bail hearings for April 28.
Meanwhile, Kirit Somaiya got anticipatory bail from the High Court on April 12.