Collector and district magistrate of Mumbai A. Shaila on Wednesday filed an affidavit in the Bombay high court informing it that the damage caused to public property in the riots that occurred on August 11, 2012 at Azad Maidan was to the tune of just Rs 36 lakh.
The court had directed the collector to quantify the loss, acting on a public interest litigation filed by two local journalists.
The petitioners had approached the high court seeking directions to the collector to expeditiously conduct an enquiry into the riots and recover the loss caused to public and private property in the ensuing violence.
While the collector had sent notice to the organisers of the rally, seeking Rs 2.74 crore in damages based on a police report about the extent of damage, the court had opined that the money sought as compensation was too little and the collector should have conducted a separate inquiry on the extent of damage instead of relying on the police report.
The judges had said that the collector should meet the victims as well and not just the accused (organisers).
However, the collector on Wednesday filed a report before a division bench headed by Justice Naresh H. Patil and said that in pursuance to the claim, the stakeholders (whose property had been damaged) viz. Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST), the police, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and its wing fire brigade had been considered and heard.
In the course of the hearing, the claimants placed on record documentary evidence to substantiate the loss caused to their property by the members of unlawful assembly. According to the affidavit, upon appreciating the evidence of the claimants, the collector determined compensation to the extent of Rs 36,44,680 only.
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