Annabhau Sathe Development Corporation scam: Money siphoned off in scam funded NCP’s poll campaign, says state govt

The Crime Investigation Department (CID) is investigating a Rs 450-crore scam in the development corporation that took place when the previous Congress-NCP regime was in power. Last August, the CID had arrested NCP MLA Ramesh Kadam, who was the corporation’s chairman between

2012 and 2014 when the scam took place. The BJP government has also ordered a parallel probe under the commissioner of the social justice department.

On Wednesday, Kamble informed the Legislative Assembly that the investigations so far had found that Rs 450 crore in funds – meant for welfare of the backward Matang community and its 12 other sub-castes – was misappropriated. In February, top city builder Vyomesh Shah was also arrested in connection with the case.

But Kamble on Wednesday linked the NCP to the scam when he said the probe had found that the party’s office bearers had directly benefitted from the proceeds of the scam.

Apart from claiming that the scam money was used by the NCP for its election campaign, Kamble alleged that “The money meant for buying rickshaws and taxis for eligible members from the Matang community was fraudulently splurged for buying 59 luxury cars for NCP office-bearers and workers.”

There was a furore in the House and proceedings had to be adjourned after Kadam, who was being egged by members from the ruling benches, named NCP leader Madan Bafna as one of the beneficiaries, while identifying Solapur’s NCP district chief and a taluka party chief from Mohol in the same district as being among the beneficiaries. NCP MLAs Shashikant Shinde and Satish Patil objected to “unfair targeting of the NCP” in the matter.

But the ruling benches kept egging the minister for revealing more. BJP MLA Sudhakar Bhalerao launched another allegation against the NCP when he said the scam money had been splurged in 38 assembly constituencies that NCP represents.

When Shinde questioned on whether the government and the ruling benches could raise such allegations when the investigations were still ongoing, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Girish Bapat stepped in, maintaining that “the Legislative Assembly had all rights to know about the wrongdoings that went on in the corporation”.

When the NCP was being attacked over the issue, the Congress members in the Opposition remained silent. Former Congress minister Abdul Sattar even rose to back a demand from the ruling benches that names of all bogus beneficiaries be read out in the House. Kamble even started reading out the names, but later positioned that he would place it before the Speaker. “The investigation found 70 bogus beneficiaries,” he said.

In a further attack, the minister said Kadam had parked Rs 150 crore of the siphoned money in various firms that he and his close ones had floated. He further said Rs 55 crore of the corporation’s money was illegally withdrawn in cash from the corporation’s account in Beed, Jalna, Parbhani, Hingoli, and Bhandara districts. Another Rs 106 crore was parked in various private properties, he said.

Earlier, BJP’s Anil Gote had initiated discussion on the scam by raising a calling attention motion on the issue. The Congress, NCP had disrupted proceedings in assembly over the last two days attacking the BJP over its “anti-Dalit” stance. The BJP’s move to catch the NCP in a bind in the scam was a counter plan, party sources confirmed.

Kamble cornered the NCP further claiming that all the bogus beneficiaries will be booked in the case within a month. Besides Kadam and the builder, Kamble said 74 officials have been acted against in the scam so far. “Of this, 16 officials have been suspended and 13 arrested,” he said. Last September, Kamble’s veiled attempt at linking former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar to the scam had resulted in a political slugfest.

Kamble had then said the investigators had evidence to show that the previous government had gone out of its way to provide additional funds to the corporation. Pawar held the finance department portfolio under the previous government. “We will not spare anyone who will be found to be involved in the scam,” Kamble had then said. Pawar had then rubbished the allegations, maintaining that the “truth will eventually come out.”

Incidentally, when the House was debating the scam allegations on Wednesday, Pawar did not participate in the proceedings. Senior NCP members, including party’s legislative party leader Jayant Patil and former assembly speaker Dilip Walse Patil, were also absent.