‘CBI didn’t get back on Bhujbal issue’

More than a year has passed after activist Anjali Damania gave a written complaint on alleged disproportionate assets collectively worth '2,453.75 crore of Chhagan Bhujbal to the Maharashtra Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) but the activist said she has heard nothing on it till date from the investigating agency. The list includes Bhujbal’s alleged investments in Singapore and Indonesia.

Ms Damania said she is “very upset” with the ACB’s investigations. It is learnt that one of the reasons is the delay by the agency in filing of the chargesheets as the court had asked them to finish the probe by December last year. Apart from the delay, Ms. Damania has listed some of Bhujbal’s investments in Singapore and in coalmines in Indonesia.

When The Asian Age contacted the ACB on Tuesday over the issue, an ACB source who is part of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that has been set up in December 2014 to probe the allegations against Bhujbal said, “Our probe in the alleged disproportionate assets of Bhujbal is underway. We cannot speak till we complete the investigation. Once the investigations are done we will provide the information.”

When contacted on Tuesday, the former PWD minister and NCP strongman rubbished the allegations. Bhujbal’s lawyer Sajal Yadav said, “A company of Bhujbal’s have a bugasse-based power plant in Maharashtra. With increasing prices of bugasse, the power generation was not viable and coal-based production was an alternative. At that time coal at most economic price was available from Indonesia.”

“Since India and Indonesia do not have a direct treaty, two companies were incorporated in Singapore and money was remitted through the bank after requisite RBI permissions for acquiring of mining rights in Indonesia. Due to environment issues in Indonesia, the acquisition got delayed and we have initiated process of refunding money from Indonesia,” he added.