EOW chargesheets supplier of defective rifle magazines

Mumbai: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police has filed a chargesheet against Jayant Kulkarni (85), who allegedly supplied more than 26,000 substandard self-loading rifle (SLR) magazines to the police in 1998. The SLRs were to be used in Naxal-affected areas. But after former inspector general of police Arup Patnaik found that State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) personnel stationed in these areas were not using the SLRs as they were not firing well with the magazines, an inquiry against Kulkarni was initiated.

The inquiry revealed that the magazines were substandard and were not compatible with the SLRs, and were hence rendered useless. The EOW had registered a case of cheating against Kulkarni under section 420 of the Indian Penal Code and the case will come up for hearing on January 16, 2017.

According to police sources, Kulkarni, who owned Jayson Industries located in Pune, was given an order to manufacture and supply 26,200 SLRs in 1998 for a cost of Rs 59.95 crore.  The magazines had been supplied in two batches in 1999 and 2000. Based on the inquiry, a case under sections 406 and 420 was registered against Kulkarni in 2013 at Colaba police station.

However, in an anticipatory bail application that Kulkarni had filed, he had said that the order had been completed only after the police had confirmed the samples. The court granted him bail on the grounds that as per the communication between the police and Kulkarni in 2011, he had complied with the terms of the contract and hence there was no need for custodial interrogation.

The court also said that only a case of breach of contract could be made out against Kulkarni, based on which the case was transferred to the EOW.