MISUSE OF GOREGAON FILM CITY'S FUNDS

ACB raids Swarup's home

Court Issues Non-Bailable Warrant Against Ex-Bureaucrat
Anil Singh

Mumbai: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Saturday morning raided the
house of former bureaucrat Govind Swarup in connection with a 2001 case
pertaining to the alleged misuse of the funds of state-run Film City at
Goregaon.

    The state government has alleged that questionable decisions taken by
Swarup as managing director of Film City caused a loss of Rs 12.83 crore to
the exchequer.

    Swarup, who retired as principal secretary in 2006, was not at his flat
at Yashodhan building, where quarters have been allotted to serving
bureaucrats. His family members told the ACB team that he was in Breach
Candy Hospital to see an ailing friend. However, the ACB team did not find
him at the hospital and left word at his house that he was to be present at
the court of S S Joshi, special judge for ACB cases, on Saturday afternoon,
where the chargesheet was to be filed.

    As Swarup failed to turn up, the judge issued a non-bailable warrant,
returnable on February 8, against him. According to additional deputy police
commissioner Vilas Tupe, the investigating officer, film producer Shahab
Ahmed, a co-accused in the case, was granted bail on payment of Rs 25 lakh
by the judge.

    Swarup was dogged by controversy during his career, but continued to get
important posts. In 2001, the state filed a case against him with the
economic offences wing of the Mumbai police after NCP MLC Ramdas Phutane
raised the issue in the state legislative council and had demanded a probe
into the matter. Phutane was on the board of Film City, officially known as
the Maharashtra Film, Stage and Cultural Development Corporation.

    The chargesheet says that Swarup entered into deals with private firms,
without informing the Film City board members. In 2000, the board had
sanctioned Swarup's proposal to host Hum Ek Hain, a film programme to be
telecast on various channels on January 26, 2001. However, the programme
could not be held because of the Gujarat earthquake.

    Swarup has been accused of a series of financial irregularities,
including opening of a joint bank account in the name of Hum Ek Hain-Film
City. The account was to be operated jointly by A G Shukla, then chief
accounts officer of Film City (since dismissed) and Ahmed. All this was done
without the knowledge of the Film City board.

    Swarup and Shukla also face charges of illegally pledging Rs 4 cr of
Film City funds for issuing bank guarantee to Prasar Bharti for telecast of
Hum Ek Hain.

    As the programme could not be telecast, Prasar Bharti invoked the bank
guarantee, causing a loss to Film City.

    In another case, the chargesheet says, Swarup entered into an agreement
with SET-India for producing 13 episodes of a film programme costing Rs 1 cr
per episode.

    Although only one episode was produced, SET-India made a payment of Rs 3
cr, which went to the joint account operated by Shukla and Ahmed.
Subsequently, Ahmed withdrew the entire sum between April 2002 and December
2003.

Govind Swarup

Shahab Ahmed


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