Akshay Anushka Tiger’s ‘contributions’ to Mumbai Police’s Rs 25 crore fund raise doubts over influence on active probes
Akshay Anushka Tiger’s ‘contributions’ to Mumbai Police’s Rs 25 crore fund raise doubts over influence on active probes
The dawn of the New Year has brought with it a fresh wave of controversy for Bollywood stars for their contribution towards
Mumbai Police’s Rs 25 crore fund raise.
According to an RTI revelation, Bollywood actors, made substantial contribution like Akshay Kumar, Anushka Sharma and Tiger Shroff.
Fresh reports suggest that an RTI looking into the varied contributors to the Mumbai Police Foundation (MPF), surprisingly listed several Bollywood actors among other individuals and organisations, with whom the police had filed chargesheets.
Amidst May 2018 and March 2023, a report in the media revealed that a total of Rs 25.49 crore was received from contributors.
While in the initial 22 months since its formation in May 2018, the MPF did not receive any contributions, from March 2020, amidst the pandemic, the fund saw a notable surge in collections. A total of Rs 15.87 crore was collected in the short time, which amounted to an estimated 60% of the overall collections.
As per RTI response, actor Akshay Kumar emerged as the most significant individual contributor, donating Rs 2 crore on April 27, 2020, just a month into the pandemic.
Producer Rohit Shetty, known for his movies featuring Mumbai Police, contributed Rs 50 lakh in 2022.
Other film industry contributors included Anushka Sharma (Rs 2 lakh on May 6, 2020) and Tiger Shroff (Rs 2.5 lakh on May 2, 2020). Ironically, a year later, Mumbai Police booked Shroff and actress Disha Patani for violating Covid-19 norms.
Besides celebrities, corporate entities like Excel Entertainment, Tips Industries, and Maddock Films also made substantial contributions.
The inclusion of certain names of individuals and businesses has raised questions due to potential conflicts of interest.
Responding to concerns about conflicts of interest, a senior police officer overseeing the MPF fund stated that they conduct background checks on donors to ensure transparency and prevent dubious contributions from impacting ongoing probes.
An officer claims officer that in cases where individuals had already been charge-sheeted, the police had relinquished control over the investigations, mitigating the potential influence of contributions on active probes.
News Edit K.V.Raman
