Flashback 2015: After Bhujbal, Ajit Pawar next in line

2015 was a year when former PWD minister and NCP strongman Chhagan Bhujbal faced the heat from corruption cases. As we stand on the threshold of the New Year, another NCP strongman, former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar is likely to experience something similar.

Maharashtra anti-corruption bureau (ACB) director general Vijay Kamble confirmed that the chargesheets in the two FIRs registered against former PWD minister and NCP strongman Bhujbal would be filed in the near future as the sanction for prosecuting four government servants had been received.

An ACB source said that the filing of the chargesheet was mainly delayed for this reason. On the other hand, the ED has attached properties worth '270 crore of the Bhujbal family after booking them under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Having said that, the ACB’s probe into the alleged disproportionate assets amassed by Bhujbal has gone cold this year, while a third FIR registered by the Taloja police against Bhujbal’s son Pankaj and nephew Sameer is still being investigated.

After a Special Investigation Team (SIT), including officials from Maharashtra ACB and Enforcement Directorate (ED) was formed on the instructions of the high court in December 2014, an open inquiry was initiated into the alleged scams and in the month of June, two FIRs were registered one after the other against Bhujbal and the others.

The investigations were completed, but the chargesheet could not be filed, as prosecution sanction was required for four government servants, booked in the two FIRs along with former PWD minister Bhujbal and others. In November, the state government granted the sanction for prosecution and the chargesheets are likely to be filed soon. The first FIR was registered against Bhujbal and five government servants for alleged criminal misconduct in awarding the contract to a private firm India Bulls for construction of the central library in Kalina and the second FIR was registered against Bhujbal and 16 others which included Pankaj and Sameer, government servants and members of the Chamankar family. Both the irregularities are said to have cost the state exchequer hundreds of crores of rupees.

In the same month (June), the Taloja police in Navi Mumbai registered a FIR against Pankaj, Sameer and others who were allegedly involved in a cheating case involving construction of a housing project, which got delayed by four years. The complainant Yunus Shaikh alleged that five directors of Devisha Infrastructure Pvt Ltd. including Pankaj and Sameer took '44 crore from 2,300 people for the Hex World housing project in Kharghar.

Economic Offences Wing (EOW) inspector Rajendra Kadam is investigating the case. Mr Kadam said, “The property attachment is already done by ED. We have recorded statements of over 150 victims. The process of collecting evidence is on and the scope for investigation is vast. We are in touch with the MMRDA, the collector’s office and concerned banks. We are collecting documents. We can’t say with certainty when the chargesheet will be filed.” It is learnt that the EOW has questioned Sameer three to four times, while Pankaj was called

two times. Based on the information in these three FIRs against Bhujbal and his family members, the ED registered their own Economic Case Information Reports (ECIR). The first ECIR was pertaining to the Maharashtra Sadan scam and Kalina land allotment case, while the second ECIR was about the FIR registered with the Taloja police.

Pravin Wategaonkar, the complainant in the irrigation scam is not at all happy with the pace of the probe by the SIT against former water resources ministers Ajit Pawar and Sunil Tatkare. Mr Wategaonkar said he is “baffled” with the fact that no FIR has been filed in the Kondhane scam despite a year having gone by.

The open inquiry has been initiated in a total of 12 dam projects awarded unfairly. While an FIR has been registered in the Balganga dam project, an open inquiry is on in the Kondhane and Kalu projects. Lagging behind these three, are the open inquiries in remaining nine dam projects. Unfortunately, as the investigation is vast and manpower limited, five of the accused in the Balganga dam case got bail, as the chargesheet was not filed in the stipulated time period.

Speaking to The Asian Age, Mr Wategaonkar said, “The findings of the SIT are really good, but I am not satisfied with the pace of their investigation. There are too many irrigation scams and the investigations are vast so the manpower has to be adequate, but it is not and hence the probe is moving slowly. I had recommended that the SIT be given a seasoned lawyer, a well-experienced senior Chartered Accountant and a retired technical engineer. The probe is elaborate and includes accounting and technical frauds. The accused have the power to go to higher courts and the investigation will be questioned at every stage in court.”

Even as they have provided a lawyer and a CA, they are still to provide a full time technical engineer. Presently, the SIT is taking advice from a committee, which is time-consuming process. Further, a source in ACB confirmed the issue of manpower is slowing down their probe.