SIS secy paid lawyer in personal case Rs10L from GIPE funds: State tells court

Pune: The state prosecution on Wednesday told a magisterial court that Rs10 lakh funds were transferred from Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (GIPE) account to that of its parent body, Servants of India Society (SIS), and used by its secretary Milind Deshmukh to pay for a lawyer's fees in a personal case related to Justice M G Ranade Trust land at Shewalewadi in Hadapsar.
Prosecutor Amar Nanaware made a submission to this effect before judicial magistrate first class Alok Pande while seeking an extension of Deshmukh's police custody in the case of an alleged Rs1.42 crore cheating and misappropriation of GIPE funds received from University Grants Commission (UGC) and central and state govts which cannot be diverted to SIS or any sponsored institute.

Deshmukh, who was arrested on April 5, is accused of getting GIPE to transfer Rs1.42 crore to the SIS to get the latter's land in Nagpur converted from a leasehold to freehold. JMFC Pande extended his police custody until April 11.
Nanaware submitted that GIPE's officiating deputy registrar and complainant Vishal Gaikwad recorded a supplementary statement on April 8 about the alleged diversion of Rs10 lakh GIPE funds on March 1, 2024 to pay for the lawyer's fees in a personal matter.
The prosecution submitted that five of the eight SIS trustees have said in their police statements that no resolution was passed seeking financial assistance from GIPE to convert SIS's leasehold land in Nagpur to a freehold land.
"The proposal for the Nagpur land was first placed before the SIS trustees meeting on Jan 23, 2023. Three trustees attended the meeting, and five others were not present. Investigations revealed that a day before the meeting, Deshmukh's three relatives were illegally appointed as under-training members, and the proposal related to the Nagpur land was cleared," Nanaware submitted.
Earlier, Deccan Gymkhana police's senior inspector Girisha Nimbalkar produced Deshmukh before the court and submitted a report through Nanaware seeking extension of custody for five days.
The prosecutor sought time for the police to conduct detailed investigations because Deshmukh violated UGC norms while transferring the funds. There was fear that the actual amount diverted could be more, and police were in the process of interviewing the vice-chancellor, registrar, and accounts officer to probe their alleged role in the crime, the prosecutor said.
Pune: The state prosecution on Wednesday told a magisterial court that Rs10 lakh funds were transferred from Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (GIPE) account to that of its parent body, Servants of India Society (SIS), and used by its secretary Milind Deshmukh to pay for a lawyer's fees in a personal case related to Justice M G Ranade Trust land at Shewalewadi in Hadapsar.
Prosecutor Amar Nanaware made a submission to this effect before judicial magistrate first class Alok Pande while seeking an extension of Deshmukh's police custody in the case of an alleged Rs1.42 crore cheating and misappropriation of GIPE funds received from University Grants Commission (UGC) and central and state govts which cannot be diverted to SIS or any sponsored institute.
Deshmukh, who was arrested on April 5, is accused of getting GIPE to transfer Rs1.42 crore to the SIS to get the latter's land in Nagpur converted from a leasehold to freehold. JMFC Pande extended his police custody until April 11.
Nanaware submitted that GIPE's officiating deputy registrar and complainant Vishal Gaikwad recorded a supplementary statement on April 8 about the alleged diversion of Rs10 lakh GIPE funds on March 1, 2024 to pay for the lawyer's fees in a personal matter.
The prosecution submitted that five of the eight SIS trustees have said in their police statements that no resolution was passed seeking financial assistance from GIPE to convert SIS's leasehold land in Nagpur to a freehold land.
"The proposal for the Nagpur land was first placed before the SIS trustees meeting on Jan 23, 2023. Three trustees attended the meeting, and five others were not present. Investigations revealed that a day before the meeting, Deshmukh's three relatives were illegally appointed as under-training members, and the proposal related to the Nagpur land was cleared," Nanaware submitted.
Earlier, Deccan Gymkhana police's senior inspector Girisha Nimbalkar produced Deshmukh before the court and submitted a report through Nanaware seeking extension of custody for five days.
The prosecutor sought time for the police to conduct detailed investigations because Deshmukh violated UGC norms while transferring the funds. There was fear that the actual amount diverted could be more, and police were in the process of interviewing the vice-chancellor, registrar, and accounts officer to probe their alleged role in the crime, the prosecutor said.