NE NEWS SERVICE
AHMEDABAD, OCT 29
A magisterial court in Palanpur in Banaskantha district of Gujarat has directed the police to register an FIR in connection with the loot of diamonds, jewellery, and other valuables worth Rs 45 crore from a safe vault in Lilavati Hospital in Palanpur in 2019.
Prashant Mehta, the de facto trustee of Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust which owns and runs the Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai and Palanpur in Gujarat, had approached the court after the Palanpur police failed to register an FIR in connection to the loot.
In an order dated October 27, Payal Goswami, second judicial magistrate first class, Palanpur, came down heavily on the Palanpur police and directed the Palanpur City East Police Station to register an FIR under section 156 (3) of the Criminal Procedure Code based on Prashant Mehta’s complaint.
The magistrate also directed police to follow the guidelines issued by the Supreme Court in Lalita Kumari versus Government of Uttar Pradesh in writ petition (criminal) No. 68/2008 and to carry out the appropriate investigations in connection to the FIR.
“We have been maintaining from the beginning that we have full faith in the judiciary. We are pleased the hon’ble court has directed the Palanpur police to register an FIR. We now hope that the police will conduct a fair and neutral investigation and bring the culprits to book,” Prashant Mehta said.
As per the case details, ‘unlawful trustees’ of Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust, viz. Rashmi Mehta, Chetan Mehta, Prabodh Mehta, Bhavin Mehta, Ayushman Mehta, Rekha Sheth, Nanik Rupani, Dilip Shanghvi, Laxminaryanan and others, in connivance with one another, had carried out the loot of goods worth Rs 45 crore, including diamonds, jewellery, silverware, fancy diamonds, and other items from the collection of Maharaja of Baroda from a safe vault kept in the basement of Mani Bhavan, which houses the Lilavati Hospital in Palanpur.
The valuables, which may be worth even more because of their antique value, belong to the Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust and were kept in safe custody to expand the Lilavati Hospital in Palanpur at an appropriate time.
“The ‘unlawful trustees’ have clearly and brazenly engaged in a criminal act by taking part in the loot. We are fighting so that the looted valuables are returned to the rightful owner, which is the trust,” said Prashant Mehta, the grandson of Kirtilal Mehta who founded the trust.
Prashant Mehta had approached the Palanpur police after learning about the loot in September. However, instead of registering an FIR, the police registered a preliminary inquiry and sent officers to Mumbai. The police recovered some of the looted valuables from the possession of the unlawful trustees. But, instead of registering an FIR, the police personnel returned the valuables to the accused persons and returned to Palanpur.
The police refused to register an FIR despite all the incriminating evidence against the unlawful trustees, following which Prashant Mehta knocked the judiciary’s doors for redressal of his grievances, seeing booking of the culprits and recovering the valuables that belong to the people of Gujarat.
Incidentally, the petitioner had moved the Gujarat High Court in this regard and on its direction moved the Palanpur court.
