Hazare trains guns on Gholap

The two cases involve an aggregate amount of over Rs 6 crore, Hazare said demanding a thorough probe. The social worker has also forwarded the available documentary evidence to Maharashtra Governor Dr P C Alexander.

Hazare later circulated photostat copies of 7/12 extracts (land deal documents) showing Shashikala Babanrao Gholap purchasing four pieces of land admeasuring 1.92 hectares, 2.93 hectares, 6.68 hectares and 1.92 hectares at Bejhe village in Nashik district. These lands, including a piece of Adivasi (tribal) land, were purchased on May 24, June 10 and September 3, last year, the documents show.

The collective price of 13.45 hectares of land was shown Rs 5.85 lakh while the real cost of land could be several times higher, he said.

Lashing out against the saffron alliance leaders demanding fresh incidents of corruption’, Hazare stated that all these deals were made after Gholap, who Hazare said was a former cinema black ticket tout, becoming a minister. “How can a person like Gholap rake in crores within two years of becoming Minister as in the case of a former dabewala?,” he asked in an oblique reference to former agriculture minister Shashikant Sutar.

The crusader, however, categorically stated that he was not demanding Gholap’s resignation. “Let’s see the State government’s reaction and what Gholap has to say about the allegations,” he said.

In the other case, where Hazare alleges dishonesty, power looms worth Rs 5 to 6 crores were purchased by Gholap’s Social Welfare department under the aegis of the Vasantrao Naik Bhathya Vimukt Jamati Vikas Manch and Mahatma Phule Magasvargiya Vikas Mandal for welafare societies in various districts.

The power looms costing Rs 70,000 per piece were brought through an agency from Rajastan without seeking pre-purchase quotations, Hazare informed media persons. The machines never reached the individual beneficiaries and instead distributed among a few societies, some of which were never registered.

A Shiv Sena founder member-turned-Sena supremo Bal Thackeray’s bete noire Madhav Deshpande has already demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the power looms purchase, he said. Deshpande has already written to the Economic Offences Wing of the State government, according to the documents Hazare gave to the mediapersons.

Hazare also alleged corruption in granting ashram shalas (residential schools) for children from nomadic tribes by the Social Welfare Minister.

Citing a government resolution of September 18 last year, the crusader stated that the Social Welfare department had quashed its earlier sanctions to the aashram shalas “barely within nine days”. Further, the director’s report on sanctions was also ignored, he said.