Bank account ‘operated by’ fake PMO advisor received Rs 1.3 crore from firm run by senior Maharashtra official’s wife

Case files, accessed by The Indian Express, show that Shree Lakshmi Traders, a firm owned by Anuprita Solanki, transferred Rs 1.3 crore by cheque to the SBI account of “Indian Supplies” on October 7, 2020. Anuprita is the wife of Balasaheb Solanki, who is the Regional Deputy Commissioner of the state Social Welfare Department.

‘Didn’t get my money back, but not filing complaint’
When contacted, Anuprita said, “I did not get my money back. I was assured that money would be returned. I have not filed any complaint. Satara is my in-laws’ place, so I knew Kashmira as a family friend. I was not cheated by anyone.”

Anuprita has given a statement to the police that she has no complaint against Kashmira or others in this case. In the statement, she mentioned that her business involves supplying food grains across India as per the orders received.

Kashmira allegedly held meetings with Anuprita’s husband Balasaheb and others at the official premises of the Social Welfare Department in Pune, said a source associated with the case. In the chargesheet filed against Kashmira before a Satara court, the police attached some WhatsApp chats in which she has allegedly mentioned “Solanki Saheb” a few times.

“I have nothing to do with this case. Whatever related to the firm has been told to the police….,” Balasaheb Solanki, who is currently posted in Mumbai, told The Indian Express. Balasaheb has held various positions in the state government. In 2023, he was involved in signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) and the Social Welfare Department to construct Pali Bhavan in the varsity.

Arun Devkar, Police Inspector, Satara, who is the investigation officer in the case, said the probe was monitored by the Bombay High Court. “None of the accused has been granted bail. The volume of the fraud is about Rs 50 crore. The statements of those who transferred money into the accused’s bank accounts were recorded,” he stated.

“Some said they got their money back. Anupriya Solanki has stated that she has no complaint against Kashmira or anyone. Most of the money from the Indian Supplies account was withdrawn,” Devkar said.

FIR filed last year

The First Information Report (FIR) in connection with the “Indian Supplies” firm was lodged by a Pune woman, Sushma Khamkar, at the Satara city police station on October 21, 2024. The same day, the police arrested Kashmira, her aide Ganesh, 36, and four others on charges of cheating and forgery.

The other accused are Satara natives Amit Waydande, 35, Radha Zalke, 34, Dashrath Jadhav, 46, Anita Jadhav, 28. They are all still behind bars. One accused, Yuvraj Zalke, who claimed to be Kashmira’s personal assistant, is on the run, the police said.

As per the FIR, posing as an advisor with the PMO, Kashmira allegedly promised to provide Khamkar with a tender for supplying school uniforms in Maharashtra.

Khamkar alleged that Kashmira made her open a bank account in the name of the “Indian supplies” firm. However, in February 2020, Kashmira allegedly said that the tender could not be given to Khamkar because her firm’s account did not show large transactions. Kashmira and her aides then allegedly took the passbook of the account, and signed cheques linked to the bank account, and claimed to make it “strong” by carrying out huge transactions, the FIR stated.

The police said between January 2020 and February 2022, multiple transactions amounting to Rs 14.73 crore were carried out from the account of Indian Supplies. This included a cheque of Rs 1.3 crore deposited by Anuprita Solanki’s firm, which is purportedly located at an apartment in Silver Oak society, Kalyani Nagar, Pune.

Investigating officer Devkar said the accused, Kashmira and Ganesh, led a lavish lifestyle, allegedly by conning people. Ganesh took loans and purchased five cars that are yet to be seized, the police added.

Media reports on ‘appointment to PMO’

Meanwhile, the police have recorded the statements of mediapersons who reported in December 2017 about Kashmira’s “appointment” as national advisor to the PMO, even stating that she had communicated with National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval from the Satara district collector’s office via video conferencing.

The police said Kashmira allegedly used the media reports and forged documents to cheat people. The chargesheet has a picture of Kashmira purportedly being felicitated by Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar.

Officers have also recovered fake letters bearing the signatures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former president Ramnath Kovind, mentioning Kashmira’s “appointment” as an advisor with the PMO.

The chargesheet also includes the Satara police’s communications with the PMO, Rashtrapati Bhavan, Union Home Ministry, Lok Sabha and the governments of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, as per which Kashmira was never appointed to any such role while pointing out that the “tender papers” she allegedly used for the scam were fake.

As per Kashmira’s statement to the police, she has a Master’s degree in Sociology.

4 cases against Kashmira, aides

Tushar Doshi, Superintendent of Police (SP), Satara, said, “There are three cheating cases against Kashmira and her aides in Satara, and one in Pune city. Chargesheets have been filed in all the three cases in Satara.”

The first complaint against Kashmira, which claimed that she was posing as an advisor with the PMO, was filed in Satara by local hotelier Phillip Bhambal in December 2022. On January 4, 2023, the Satara police lodged an FIR against an “unidentified person” under Indian Penal Code Section 170 (personating a public servant), and on January 10, 2023, based on Kashmira’s complaint, they booked Bhambal in an extortion case.

Bhambal then approached the Bombay High Court seeking to transfer the probe to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) or the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The Satara police first arrested Kashmira and Ganesh on June 19, 2024. The next day, both were released on bail. The arrest came just two days after a Pune bidder filed a separate FIR of cheating against them.

In July 2024, hearing Bhambal’s petition, the high court raised doubts on the investigation by the Satara police and directed the then SP to appear before it. Bhambal said his matter has since been transferred to the recently constituted Kolhapur bench of the high court.