Of the nine Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leaders who were sworn in as Cabinet ministers in Maharashtra’s Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government on Sunday, at least four leaders or their family members — Ajit Pawar, Chhagan Bhujbal, Aditi Tatkare and Hasan Mushrif — are facing a probe by the Enforcement Directorate or Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) in cases linked to money laundering.
Ajit Pawar was facing a probe by the Economic Offences Wing based on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) over allegations of irregularities in loans given by the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank. Based on this, the ED too filed a case to probe money laundering in this connection.
In November 2019, the Maha Vikas Aghadi — a three-party coalition of the Congress, NCP and undivided Shiv Sena — came to power with Ajit named as the Deputy Chief Minister. Within a year, in September 2020, the EOW said it found no evidence of any criminal wrongdoing and filed a closure report before the special court.
The ED had opposed the EOW’s stand in 2020 but its intervention was rejected by the special court. As per a Supreme Court judgment, if the EOW case was to be closed, the ED too could not continue the probe. Before the special court could decide on the closure report by the EOW, however, the state government changed last June.
With the political change, the EOW too changed its stance in October 2022 and said that it wanted to continue with the probe, setting aside its own closure report. Currently, the EOW probe is ongoing and the state agency is yet to file a chargesheet.
The ED, meanwhile, filed a chargesheet in its probe in April. While Ajit’s role in the bank and in some of the companies which bought the sugar cooperatives which had taken loans from the bank were extensively mentioned in the ED chargesheet, the leader has not been named an accused in the case. A company linked to him, however, was named in April in connection with the case. When asked why he was not named, Pawar had said that the probe was still on and he had not been given a clean chit.
Irrigation scam
When Ajit Pawar was the Water Resources Minister in the Congress-NCP government and chairman of the Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation, there were allegations of irregularities in the irrigation projects. Based on PILs, the Maharashtra ACB began a court-monitored investigation in this regard.
However, in 2019, a day after he formed the short-lived government with Fadnavis, the ACB submitted a report before the Bombay High Court giving him a clean chit. The report, however, is yet to be accepted by the court. When the MVA came to power, some BJP leaders started demanding re-investigation in the matter.
Hasan Mushrif
The leader from Kolhapur was facing searches by the ED in Mumbai in connection with alleged irregularities in the functioning of Sar Senapati Santaji Ghorpade Sugar Factory Limited and companies linked to his family.
In his pleas before the special court in Mumbai and the Bombay High Court, Mushrif had said that the case against him was a motivated conspiracy. He had alleged that there was a “deliberate attempt” to get him involved in ED cases and that it was “common knowledge” as to how the ED is used in recent times to “wreck political vengeance and either severely damage or completely destroy political careers”.
Mushrif’s anticipatory bail plea was rejected by the special court in April. Following that, he approached the Bombay High Court. The court has been extending his interim relief. Last week, it was extended till July 11. The anticipatory bail pleas of his three sons, who are also being probed by the ED, are pending before the special court.
Chhagan Bhujbal
A case was filed in 2015 against Bhujbal and 16 others by the Anti-Corruption Bureau after a PIL was filed in the Bombay High Court seeking an inquiry into alleged irregularities in awarding of contracts of over Rs 100 crore for three projects in 2006 when Bhujbal was the state PWD minister.
The contracts in question were given to Chamankar Developers for the construction of Maharashtra Sadan in Delhi, a new Regional Transport Office building in Andheri and a state guest house in Malabar Hill. A separate case alleging money laundering was also filed by the ED. The agency arrested Bhujbal in the case and he was granted bail after two years in jail.
In September 2021, while the MVA was in power, a special court discharged Bhujbal and others. An activist in January this year filed an appeal against the court’s order before the Bombay High Court, which is pending. One case remains pending against Bhujbal besides the ED case.
One case filed by the ACB in connection with the Mumbai University corruption case is pending before a special court. Bhujbal has filed a discharge plea, which is currently being heard. The ED case too remains pending. Bhujbal’s co-accused in the case, including his son and nephew, have filed for discharge on the ground that since the ACB case is closed, the ED probe cannot continue.
“There are allegations that we have made the decision because of the pending cases against us. There is no case against Ajit dada, the most significant case against me is closed, there are no cases against the others. There is a case against Hasan Mushrif but the courts have been extending interim relief to him from time to time. There is no evidence against him,” Bhujbal said in the press conference with Ajit Pawar.
Sunil Tatkare, whose daughter Aditi Tatkare was sworn in
In addition to Ajit Pawar, it was Sunil Tatkare who was being probed in the irrigation scam by the ACB. In the chargesheet filed by the ACB in 2017, it had mentioned Tatkare’s name, although not as an accused at that point. Officers had said that a separate chargesheet would be filed later. ED had also begun a preliminary enquiry against Tatkare in 2012 in connection with the same case.
Praful Patel, who joined the govt although not sworn in
The ED had in 2019 alleged that a company linked to Patel developed Ceejay House in Worli in 2006-07 and that two of its floors were transferred to Dawood Ibrahim aide, Iqbal Memon alias Mirchi’s wife in 2007. The ED had
summoned Patel between 2019-2021 in connection with the money-laundering case it filed against Mirchi’s family members and others. In July 2022, the ED had attached four floors of Ceejay House. Patel had denied any links with Mirchi. Patel has not been named as an accused or named in the chargesheet filed by the ED.
NCP leaders Hasan Mushrif, Ajit Pawar, Chhagan Bhujbal. (Express photos) 
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