Shiv Sena MLA and former minister Suresh Jain on Thursday appealed to a Jalgaon court, seeking that he be shifted to a prison in Jalgaon from the Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai. Jain has been in custody since his dramatic arrest on March 11, 2012.
He has been charged in a housing scheme scam worth `110 crore, of which `29.59 crore was allegedly misappropriated. The scheme was implemented at nine places to rehabilitate 7,500 slumdwellers. Cases were registered in 2006 and an offence was filed against 57 people. Charges were framed under IPC Sections 406, 409, 420, 411, 109, 34, etc. against the various accused.
Speaking to The Asian Age, special public prosecutor N.D. Suryawanshi said that he would object to the appeal, as it was for the law to decide. The next hearing will be held on July 25.
The bail application of Jain and two others in the housing development scam was rejected by the special court in Jalgaon on July 9. This was Jain’s ninth bail application, which has been rejected by all courts, including the Bombay high court and the Supreme Court. The other major accused are Jagannath Wani and Suresh Raisoni. Mr Suryawanshi had also appealed that the jailer and doctors of St. George Hospital be examined in court, as Jain had not spent a single day in prison and remained in hospital.
Even special public prosecutor Pravinkumar Chavan stated that all of Jain’s medical reports be examined by the doctors and court since there appears to be no reason for him to remain in hospital.