Thane Co-op society formed with forged documents

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Thane: A Thane court has taken cognisance of a complaint against a BJP legislator, an IAS officer and seven others for allegedly registering a village cooperative society by forging documents. The Ulhasnagar magistrate court in Thane took cognisance of the complaint filed by one Prabhu Govind Patil, who alleged that he too was unauthorisedly made a member of the society by the accused, who forged his signature.

Magistrate Shailaja Pandey recently took note of the complaint and the supporting documents submitted by Patil and ordered for issuance of process against the nine people, saying based on the first impression (prima facie), the complaint buttresses the allegations.

Issuing of process are the proceedings in any civil lawsuit or criminal prosecution and especially describes a formal notice or writ used by a court to exercise jurisdiction over a person or property. "Perused the complaint and documents which prima facie reveal that the society bearing name Sagav Parisar Vividh Karyakari Seva Sanstha was registered. Further, the death
certificates of some members reveal that the society was registered in their names after their demise," the court said."Since the accused are promoters of the said society, prime facie it can be said that they have registered this society in the name of dead people by forging their signatures," the court said.

Considering the complaint and the related documents, it can be inferred that the complainant has prime facie made out the allegations against the accused, it said. The court issued process against the accused for offences punishable under IPC sections 420 (cheating), 408 (criminal breach of trust), 467 (forgery of documents), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document) and 120 (b) (criminal conspiracy).

The accused persons will now have to represent themselves before the court and file their replies to the complaint. According to the complaint, Kisan Kathore, the MLA from Murbad constituency in Thane district, set up a cooperative society - 'Sagav Parisar Vividh Karyakari Seva Sanstha' - in 2011 of which he was the chief promoter.

Patil in his complaint has alleged that Kathore added around 70 persons as members to the society on the basis of forged documents. Several of these members had died even before the registration of the society, he has alleged.

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