‘No evidence of money trail’: Court clears ex-Vasai-Virar civic chief in ₹300-crore land-grabbing racket

MUMBAI: Over a year and a half after the demolition of 41 illegal buildings in Vasai-Virar left nearly 2,500 families homeless, a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court has discharged former municipal commissioner Anil Kumar Pawar from the alleged land-grabbing and illegal construction racket, ruling that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) failed to establish a money trail linking him to the proceeds of crime

MUMBAI: Over a year and a half after the demolition of 41 illegal buildings in Vasai-Virar left nearly 2,500 families homeless, a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court has discharged former municipal commissioner Anil Kumar Pawar from the alleged land-grabbing and illegal construction racket, ruling that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) failed to establish a money trail linking him to the proceeds of crime.

The affected residents, predominantly from working-class and lower-middle-class backgrounds, included a large number of migrant workers.

While discharging Pawar, the court also cleared his wife, Bharti Pawar, and two chartered accountants. However, it took cognisance of the ED’s money-laundering complaint against 14 other accused, including former corporator Sitaram Gupta, his nephew and former deputy director of town planning Y S Reddy, allowing prosecution against them to proceed.

In its order on Saturday, Special PMLA Judge Sharayoo Vivek Sahare observed that neither Pawar nor his wife had been named in any of the predicate offences and that there was no evidence linking them to the alleged proceeds of crime. The court also noted that the alleged land-grabbing racket began in 2008, whereas Pawar took charge of the Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC) only in 2022.

“There is nothing on record to show the money trail from either of the Accused persons mainly the Accused No.3 [Reddy] to the Accused No.4 [Pawar] and successively to Accused No.13 [Bharti],” the court said.

The case stems from multiple FIRs registered over alleged land grabbing and unauthorised construction in Achole village, Vasai-Virar. The ED alleged that Gupta and his nephew Arun Gupta were instrumental in grabbing private and government land, including plots reserved in the city’s development plan for a sewage treatment plant and a dumping ground. They allegedly used forged documents and unauthorised development agreements to transfer the land to builders, who subsequently constructed buildings without the requisite permissions.

According to the ED, 41 buildings were illegally constructed on the disputed land with the connivance of civic officials and sold to unsuspecting buyers. In July 2024, the Bombay High Court ordered their demolition, a decision the Supreme Court subsequently declined to interfere with. The demolition drive was completed in February 2025, rendering nearly 2,500 families homeless.

The agency alleged that a network of builders, developers, municipal officials, architects and intermediaries facilitated the illegal constructions in return for bribes, allowing development on land reserved for public purposes. In its charge sheet, the ED pegged the alleged proceeds of crime at ₹300.92 crore, attributing ₹169 crore to Pawar.

Pawar was arrested by the ED in August 2025. However, the Bombay high court subsequently declared his arrest illegal, holding that the agency had failed to demonstrate sufficient material to justify it. The latest order, however, deals with whether the material in the ED’s prosecution complaint was sufficient to proceed against him under the PMLA.

While finding sufficient grounds to prosecute Gupta and his nephew, the special court observed that they had allegedly grabbed private and government land using forged documents and misled homebuyers into purchasing flats in buildings they knew were unauthorised.

“These accused were having knowledge that the buildings constructed by them will not stand,” the judge observed.

The court also rejected a property broker’s contention that he should be treated on a par with innocent flat purchasers. Noting that he had purchased commercial land, the court held that the principle of “Buyer Beware” applied, as a purchaser was expected to verify the property’s status and ensure that it was free from encumbrances.

Reddy, who served as deputy director of town planning, is also among those facing prosecution. The court noted that he had been booked in a disproportionate-assets case following the recovery of cash and jewellery worth around ₹32 crore. It found sufficient grounds to proceed against him under the PMLA.

The 14 accused have been directed to appear before the special court on November 30.