Pune land scam: ED attaches Eknath Khadse’s properties worth ₹5.73 Cr

The case, registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, pertains to the purchase of a plot at Bhosari village in Haveli taluka on April 28, 2016, by Khadse’s kin for ₹3.75 crore against the prevalent market rate of ₹31 crore

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached properties worth ₹5.73 crore belonging to Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Eknath Khadse and his family as part of the investigation into a case of criminal misconduct by a public servant, pertaining to a piece of land at Bhosari in Pune. The attached properties include a bungalow, flats and seven land parcels worth ₹4.86 crore in Jalgaon and Lonavala. Bank balance worth ₹86.28 lakh was also frozen. The politician and his family are accused of defrauding the exchequer of ₹61.25 crore.

NCP leader Eknath Khadse. (HT Archive)

The case pertains to the purchase of a plot at Bhosari village in Haveli taluka on April 28, 2016, by Khadse’s kin for ₹3.75 crore against the prevalent market rate of ₹31 crore.

Previously, Khadse was questioned by ED in January and July this year. ED arrested his son-in-law Girish Chaudhari in July in connection with the case. Khadse’s wife Mandakani and the Bhosari land’s owner Abbas Rasalbhai Ukani were also booked in the case by ED on August 28, 2019.

ED’s case is based on an FIR registered by Maharashtra Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) against the Khadse family in 2017. The ACB later closed the case, but ED continued its investigation into the alleged financial irregularities in the land deal.

The plot’s ownership was contentious as the industries department acquired it in 1971, but the final award of the land was not made, and the owner had not been compensated for it.

According to ED’s case, Khadse and his family, despite having knowledge that the said plot was reserved for Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), fraudulently purchased it so that when MIDC would acquire it, they could claim compensation of the said property from the revenue authorities and receive compensation of more than double the market rate.

ED said that Khadse, as the then revenue minister, mobilised the revenue officer for MIDC to acquire the land so that his family could file for compensation of the plot.

“As per the valuation of the land provided by the sub-registrar, it [price of land] comes to ₹31.01 crore. However, it appears that Khadse, by abusing and misusing his official position, coerced and forced the registration officials concerned to reflect the market value of the said land as ₹3.75 crore,” ED previously stated in their remand application.

While establishing the money trail, when ED officials asked Chaudhari about the source of funds for the land purchase, he said that he had availed a loan of ₹2 crore from Benchmark Buildcon Private Limited as he knew the firm’s chief director since 2003-04.

However, when ED scrutinised the balance sheet of Benchmark Buildcon Private Limited, it was revealed that the company did not have any operating income in 2014-15 and 2015-16, and generated only ₹1.5 lakh in income in 2016-17.

The probe also revealed that the company received funds from five other firms (Proficient Merchandise Ltd, Abjayoni Trading Pvt Ltd, Adamina Traders, Chemexgoods Pvt Ltd and Pearl Dealers Pvt Ltd) and transferred the amount to Chaudhari. These five companies exist only on paper and are shell companies used for layering of funds, ED said. This clearly shows that the source of the funds for the purchase of the said land is not genuine and has been routed through various companies by Chaudhari, the central agency said.

ED officers said Khadse was allegedly involved in the illegal purchase of the Bhosari land as well as the fudging of records at the registration office. ED officers suspects his involvement in the alleged abuse of power and misuse of his official position as then revenue minister and forcing the registration officials concerned to reflect the market value of the plot as ₹3.75 crore.

Khadse, who left the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to join NCP last year, has said, “It’s a politically motivated case. Earlier, five agencies probed the same case and found nothing against me. [But] I will co-operate with ED.”

He had earlier claimed that the investigations in the case, including those carried out by the ACB and Income Tax department, had found no irregularities in the transaction. He had also claimed that the central agency was set after him because he left the BJP to join the NCP.