Suman Shah (right) at Hotel Gypsy, Shivaji Park, last evening, celebrating the court victory
The two remaining accused in the Ramesh Kini case L D Shah and his son Suman Shah were acquitted yesterday for lack of evidence. L D Shah, landlord of a building in Matunga, and Suman were accused of driving Kini to suicide by trying to evict him from his rented flat.
Kini was found dead in a theatre in Pune on July 23, 1996. Shiv Sena leader Raj Thackerays name also figured in the controversy as he is a close friend of the Shahs and Kini had said in a suicide note that he had been summoned to Thackerays office.
Another accused, Ashutosh Rane, an Akhil Vidyarthi Sena leader, was discharged in the case on April 4, also for lack of evidence.
The court, while acquitting the Shahs, observed that it appeared that Kini had died due to achemic heart disease, as recorded in the postmortem report of Sassoon Hospital, Pune.
Excerpts from a conversation with Suman Shah, who was at the Hotel Gypsy, Shivaji Park, yesterday evening, celebrating the court victory.
How do you react to the judgement?
Truth finally prevails. I had to wait six years. These allegations came all of a sudden. First they said it was murder, then we were booked for abetting suicide. I had to spend 14 days in custody.
The judgement clearly says it was not suicide; it was a natural death. I fail to understand what exactly happened. Some people made use of it for political gain, while some social workers used it for other gain.
I feel it was a bad dream. I dont know whether to laugh or cry. I feel like crying for what I have undergone. At the same time, I was accused of something I havent done, so I feel like laughing.
Are you planning legal action against the people who accused you?
I will think about suing them.
Did friends, like Raj Thackeray, support you during the legal battle?
Everyone supported me. My conscience was clear and so was Rajs. We were all together.
In 1997, it was alleged that you wanted to construct a multi-storey tower by evicting the current residents. Do you have plans to construct a tower now?
Construction is not my business. I have never had plans to construct a tower. There are eight tenants in the building and I have no litigation against six of them. In the Kini case, the flats tenant was Anant Prabhu.
After he left, Ramesh Kini wanted to surrender the flat and get money. Thats the reason I filed an eviction case.
A while ago, the other tenants asked me to reconstruct the building since it is an old one. But I feel the building is still strong. They wanted 35 per cent more space. I felt the proposal was not viable and we decided not to go ahead with it.
