Yewale paid Rs 85 lakh in cash to Satara credit society, allege activists, district collector says will look into it

Suryakant Yewale, the suspended tehsildar who is one of the accused in the Mundhwa land deal, allegedly deposited Rs 85 lakh cash with a credit society in Satara to clear the loan arrears of his close relatives. The allegations were made by activists Vijay Kumbhar and Anjali Damania in a letter to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday. When contacted, District Collector Jitendra Dudi said he will look into the allegations and take appropriate action.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Kumbhar alleged, “Yewale’s family had taken a loan from a credit society in Satara. We have documentary evidence which show that he paid Rs 85.50 lakh in cash to the credit society to clear the dues… The question is, where did he get such a big amount from and that in cash? What is the source of this huge amount with a government officer? Is this amount from the Mundhwa land deal?”

“He was a guarantor for his relatives who had taken loan from the credit society. On October 17, he paid Rs 85.50 lakh in cash to clear the dues,” he claimed.

Kumbhar said the issue cannot be taken lightly. “There is a need for a thorough investigation into the matter. Damania and I have urged the CM to announce an investigation into the matter and an FIR should be launched against the guilty.”

Besides facing charges in the Mundhwa land deal, Yewale earlier faced corruption and negligence charges during his postings across Maharashtra. Yewale was arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau in 2011 and later in a separate case suspended for negligence. In 2011, he was nabbed by the ACB while allegedly accepting a bride of Rs 10,000 while serving as a naib tehsildar. Officials sources said Yewale has in the past faced seven allegations of corruption.