NCP man wants all charges to be dropped

THANE: NCP corporator Hira Patil who is one of the prime accused in the 2013 Lucky Compound collapse on Tuesday sought that all charges on him for the illegal building’s crash be dropped.
Patil’s lawyer moved a discharge application before special judge V V Virkar on the second day of the trial that saw a packed court room with all the 25 accused present.
Hira’s discharge application follows a similar petition filed by ex-deputy municipal commissioner Shrikant Sarmokadam last week.
Special prosecutor Shishir Hiray, however, claimed that such discharge applications are a tactical move to delay the trial. He told the court that the case was already behind schedule as the high court had said the trial must be completed within 18 months.
The prosecution asked the court to give its judgment on the applications on July 27 but the court has fixed August 3 as the next date of hearing.