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'Baseless allegation before 2023 polls': Ashok Gehlot's son on Maharashtra case
An FIR was registered against 16 people, including Vaibhav Gehlot and Gujarat Congress worker Sachin Purushottam Valera, in Maharashtra’s Nashik on March 17.
Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot's son Vaibhav Gehlot has rejected the fraud case registered against him and said more such allegations will surface as the assembly elections, scheduled for next year, approach. An FIR was registered against 16 people, including Vaibhav and Gujarat Congress worker Sachin Purushottam Valera, in Maharashtra’s Nashik on March 17.
Complainant Sushil Bhalchandra Patil has alleged that Valera, who presented himself as someone close to Vaibhav, who is also president of the Rajasthan Cricket Association, fraudulently obtained ₹6.80 crore from him on the pretext of landing him a contract with the Rajasthan government.
"The Rajasthan Assembly polls will be held next year. So, these kinds of baseless allegations will be labelled against me. We will continue to work for the public," news agency ANI quoted Vaibhav as saying.
Taking to Twitter, Vaibhav said, “I have no information and no connection to the case in which my name has been dragged in the media. We all know that as the elections approach, false allegations as well as manipulated stories will surface.”
The complainant said Valera had assured him in 2018 that he was close to Ashok Gehlot and manages government contracts given by the state government.
“He had asked me to become a partner in a private limited company dealing with government contracts. I have invested ₹6.80 crores through that company. When returns on my investment stopped, I started bugging them. A video call was arranged between me and Vaibhav Gehlot where Gehlot assured me of returns to my investment,” ANI quoted Patil as saying.
Patil has also sought government protection as he is apprehensive of his security after registering the FIR. “I have filed a complaint against powerful people. I am fearful about my life,” he said.
On Saturday, the Rajasthan BJP had sought clarification from the chief minister on the matter. “The name of the chief minister’s son is being heard in this Marathi news, the honourable chief minister must clarify. The people of Rajasthan wish to know only the truth,” BJP state president Satish Poonia tweeted in Hindi.
