Mundhwa deal: Tejwani withholding info on Rs 300 crore, misleading investigation, police tell court

After her arrest on December 3, Tejwani was produced before a court on December 4 and was remanded to police custody till Thursday. She was again produced before the court on Thursday when the police sought five more days of her custody for further probe. After hearing arguments from prosecution and defence, the court remanded Tejwani to police custody for four more days. During the hearing, the police presented to the court the list of total 11 criminal cases registered against Tejwani between 2015 and 2025 which pertain to criminal breach of trust, cheating, forgery along with charges of criminal conspiracy and destruction of evidence in some of them.

While seeking her additional custody, the police told the court, “When the information about Tejwani’s bank account was obtained, there was no entry of Rs 300 crore. When she was questioned about the amount, she began withholding information and misleading the probe. Probe has revealed that she was using two phone numbers. One which was registered in someone else’s name. It is possible that she used the phone number to communicate with other accused related to the land deal. When asked if she was using any other phone or any other bank account not under her name, she gave us no information. We want to question her about it.”

The prosecution told the court, “The land in question is from Mundhwa jurisdiction and the sale deed of the land was expected to be registered in a nearby sub registrar office. However, the sale deed was registered at a far away sub registrar office in Bavdhan jurisdiction. The reason for this is to be investigated.”

It can be recalled that Tejwani was questioned by Pune police in the third week of November multiple times. Pune City Police have said that FIR registered at Khadak police station which was subsequently transferred to the Economic Offences Wing — pertains to alleged irregularities involving two separate land parcels in Bopodi and Mundhwa, linked by a common factor: suspended tehsildar Suryakant Yewale, who is accused of issuing wrongful orders in both cases. The land parcel in Mundhwa which was earlier a Mahar Watan — a hereditary land grant — had been in possession of the government and was leased to the Botanical Survey of India when its sale deed was executed in May earlier this year. On Wednesday Tejwani and Yewale were questioned together by EOW officers.

It is alleged that the firm Amadea Enterprises LLP, purchased 40 acres of land in the prime Mundhwa survey jurisdiction of  Pune. As per the rules, this particular category of land cannot be sold without prior approval from the state government. It has been alleged that the sale was executed at a significantly lower price and also with a waiver of stamp duty.