ACB seizes data on land deal

The Anti-Corruption Bureau on Thursday seized documents from the revenue department pertaining to the land deal in which revenue minister Eknath Khadse’s name has surfaced. The land in Kilje, Kalyan, a revenue land, gained attention after a man claiming to Mr Khadse’s personal aide was arrested for allegedly demanding bribe in lieu of changing the land allotment order.

According to officials, in 2009, the government had expressed interest to allot the 10 hectares of land to a trust owned by economist Ramesh Jadhav. While the government accepted payment of Rs 70 lakh from Mr Jadhav for the same land, a later order allotted the land to the state transport department to set up a vehicle inspection unit. Though the government returned his money, Mr Jadhav is said to have challenged the allotment order.

Recently Mr Jadhav approached the ACB, saying that a man identified as Gajanan Patil who said he was the personal secretary of Mr Khadse had demanded a bribe of '30 crore and a flat to get the land allotment to be in his favour. The ACB then arrested Patil and is investigating the case.

“We have started the investigation and are looking into all angles. For now we have started perusal of the documents related to the said land,” said an officer.

The ACB officials on Thursday visited the revenue department and seized the necessary documents and will start looking into it.

An official said that to investigate the case thoroughly the ACB needed to know the names of all the officers involved in the allotment of the said land.

“We cannot just investigate the case on the basis of the statement of the accused. Since this involves many officers, we have to be very careful and do a detailed analysis,” he said. Officers added that they had also started going through phone transcripts of the complainant and accused.