Bogus Trustees help Pune Bishop to loot 30 Crores !

Pune Bishop Dabre to follow CNI’s P.C. Singh to jail ?

In what may turn out to be a much similar case like CNI moderator P. C. Singh who was picked up from Nagpur airport soon on arrival from abroad for the `10,000 Crores scam in the Church of North India, Pune’s Bishop Thomas Dabre from the Roman Catholic Church now may be the next in the EOW and CBI net.

Maruti Bhapkar, an anti corruption crusader from Pimpri – Chinchwad City (PCC) near Pune and also nick named the city’s ‘Anna Hazare’ has dashed off a letter to The Chief Justice of India, Chief Justice of Bombay High Court, Charity Commissioner, Maharashtra and Jt. Charity Commissioner, Pune alleging a shocking forgery and impersonation of trustees by Dabre for 14 long years.

Bhapkar speaking to Sprouts SIT team has claimed that from documents received under RTI from Office of Jt. Charity Commissioner, Pune, it is crystal clear that Bishop Dabre fudged records and used trustees whose terms had ended plus who were refused trusteeship by a Jt. Charity Commissioner’s order in Nov 2014 in the case of the Poona Diocesan Educational Society (PDES) that runs about 40 schools in Pune Diocese comprising 4 districts of Solapur, Satara, Sangli prima facie from 2009 till 2014.

Dabre’s own application for change in trustees for the first time was through an application for Change Report (CR) of old trustees made in 2013 though he functioned as ‘Chairman’ from 2009 till 2012 onwards as Minutes of the trust meetings show for this period and also persons who were never legal trustees.

The CR 419 of 2013 filed by Dabre was rejected in Nov 2014 by the then Dy Charity Commissioner thus rendering all actions of Dabre as illegal, null and void ! More and graver lllegality continued even after this.

Dabre and his advocate Shivraj Kadam Jaghirdar perhaps played one of the most dare devil acts in the history of Charity courts in Maharashtra and may be India too when he filed the same Change in Trustees names through a new CR no 1707 of 2013 in another Dy. Charity Commissioner’s Court withholding the fact that a CR 419 of 2009 was still pending and rejected in 2014 ! The CR of 2013 by Dabre showed names of trustees to be replaced were the very ones who were not allowed to be trustees in the first place vide the order of 2014.

The mind boggling legal jugglery became worse when after the CR 419/08 was rejected in Nov 14, Dabre and his advocate Kadam did not disclose this vital order of rejection but ‘managed’ to get CR 1707 of 13 approved in 2018 ! Dabre and Kadam did the unbelievable – obtained two orders on one CR from two different courts in the same premises of the Jt. Charity Commissioner, Pune.

A top and senior legal advocate practising in the Jt. Charity Commissioner’s office was aghast when Sprouts SIT sought his expert opinion on Bhapkar’s allegations and documents in his possession. He opined that if this be the case then the present trustees have been foisted by misleading and filing false facts and records before the Dy. Charity Commissioner in the CR 1707/13 and is a pretty serious case with possible grave repercussions for Dabre and the illegal trustees.

Bhapkar alleged that Dabre has illegally transferred between ₹ 20-30 Crores from PDES to another trust Poona Diocesan Corporation. The 20 – 30 Crores are illegal donations / Capitation fees taken from parents of the 40 odd schools that PDES runs. A complaint under the Capitation Act has been filed with the Education Commissioner who has promised stern action after an inquiry by his Officers. Sprouts has learnt that the Education department too has issued notice to Dabre seeking explanation on Bhapkar’s complaint.

Bhapkar has demanded that the Education Commissioner and State government ensure refund of the 20 to 30 Crores of Capitation fees with interest to duped parents as per provisions of The Capitation Act. He has also demanded filing of criminal complaint against Dabre and concerned trustees of PDES that are cognizable and non bailable and entail punishment of minimum 1 year to maximum 3 years.

Bhapkar revealed that Dabre had in 2018 swindled gratuity funds of `50 lakhs of St. Jude School staff, Dehu road. About 45 lakhs of this huge amount was refunded only when the Principal – Fr Jovian D’Mello lodged complaint with police. Dabre is yet to return the balance 5 lakhs. Bhapkar wonders how many more schools and their staff have been similarly looted and now a matter for Education department and investigators to probe.

As recently as 2021 Dabre illegally gifted himself a car worth 17 lakhs and a blank cheque whose amount was not disclosed in the function. The car has now been transferred back to the trust after a complaint to the Jt. Charity Commissioner, Pune while another complaint to recover the blank cheque amount has been filed and in which Dabre has been issued notice to reply by 27th Feb. It is expected that Dabre will refund this amount as he did the car fearing action from the Authorities