Something fishy at MLA hostel

A rape committed by a man who was the former personal assistant of a state minister, in the MLA Hostel at Churchgate has exposed how the rooms are being utterly misused by outsiders. Meant for MLAs and MLCs and their families, a rough survey of the four hostels in Mumbai indicates that several rooms are being used by people other than legislators. Things have been aggravated by lack of police checks.
The accused, Dharmendra Ranawal, who was arrested, along with his wife Laxmi alias Jolly, was using Room No 608 instead of former minister Dr M P Hirani with whom he worked as PA.Hirani is now chairman of the Cotton Corporation. Ranawal later became PA of Minister of State for Water Conservation Manohar Naik after Hirani lost his job a couple of years ago. Naik sacked Ranawal after his arrest.
According to a senior police officer, such things have been happening since a long time. “It’s just that this incident came to light,� he says. DCP Himanshu Roy says that he has been hearing stories about similar goings-on at the hostels. “We do check when we get complaints. Otherwise we have security personnel who screen those entering the premises,� says Shivajirao Sathe, manager of the Churchgate MLA hostel. However, this reporter and photographer went up to the sixth floor without any questions being asked. “This is a protected area. Drinks and shady goings on are are common here,� says a former resident of the hostel.
nirmal.mishra@timesgroup.com