Mumbai police book BJP leader Mohit Kamboj, court grants him protection

The Mumbai police have registered an FIR against former city Bharatiya Janata Party youth wing president Mohit Kamboj and two others on charges of cheating, an official said on Wednesday. However, later in the day a  Mumbai court granted him interim protection from arrest till June 7.

Kamboj, however, claimed the FIR was fake and said his voice cannot be suppressed.

A manager with a nationalised bank had complained to police, alleging that Kamboj and two other directors of a company had taken a loan of Rs 52 crore and used it for other than the intended purpose, the police official said.

Based on the complaint, the MRA Marg police in Mumbai on Tuesday registered the FIR against Kamboj and some officials of the company and bank under Indian Penal Code Sections 420 (cheating), 409 (criminal breach of trust) and various sections pertaining to forgery and criminal conspiracy, he said.

The accused/suspects in the case include Kamboj, M/s Nisiddh Venture Pvt Ltd, other officials as well as some unidentified persons, the police said.

The FIR against Kamboj has been transferred to the city police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) for further investigation, the official said.

Fearing arrest in the case, Kamboj approached the sessions court which granted him interim protection till the next hearing in the case on June 7.

The protection was granted on technical grounds that the FIR copy has not been shown to him, Kamboj's lawyer said.

According to the complainant, Kamboj, who is the managing director of M/s Nisiddh Venture Pvt Ltd, and other accused allegedly caused a huge loss of Rs 52.89 crore to the Indian Overseas Bank and corresponding gain to themselves and others, the police said.

From 2011 to 2015, the accused/suspects allegedly collaborated and connived with other unidentified persons and public servants and indulged in criminal conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust and falsification of records, the official said.

Kamboj in a Twitter post on Tuesday claimed a "fabricated FIR" was registered against him by city Police Commissioner Sanjay Pandey.

He also said it was wrong to think that he could be frightened or his voice could be suppressed by lodging an FIR against him in a matter which was "settled long back", and added that he will approach a court with facts.

Earlier, in March this year, the Shiv Sena-ruled Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation had issued a notice to a building in suburban Santacruz where Kamboj lives and owns flats, to check if any illegal alterations were made there.

Later, a team of the BMC had also inspected the building.

Kamboj had then claimed that efforts were being made to frame him in a false case.