A man claiming to be the personal assistant of Maharashtra revenue minister Eknath Khadse has been arrested by the ACB for allegedly demanding a bribe of Rs 30 crore over a land allotment matter.
Gajanan Patil, who calls himself the PA of Khadse, was arrested on Friday. The complainant, Ramesh Jadhav, an economist, wanted a no-objection certificate (NOC) from Khadse’s office, for which Patil allegedly demanded the bribe.
An official from the state home department, requesting anonymity, said Patil sought a bribe of Rs 30 crore from Jadhav, who had approached Khadse’s office seeking a review of the previous government order regarding allotment of a revenue land in Nilje village in Kalyan taluka of Thane district.
“Patil had first demanded a flat and Rs 1 crore to get his work done, but slowly his demands kept on increasing. The ACB was thus approached and Patil was caught red-handed just outside Mantralaya,” the officer added.
Meanwhile, Khadse distanced himself from the controversy and said Patil was only a worker from his constituency — Muktainagar in Jalgaon and was not employed officially or in private capacity by his office.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, Khadse distanced himself from the controversy and said Patil was only a worker from his constituency — Muktainagar in Jalgaon and was not employed officially or in private capacity by his office.
{{/usCountry}}“Patil is not employed in any capacity with my office. If he has misused my name and is found guilty, strict action should be taken against him. This man is a resident of my constituency and keeps bringing people from Jalgaon to Mumbai for medical treatment. He is thus known to me,” Khadse said.
The land in question was allotted to the state Transport Department for a vehicle inspection centre on March 29, 2014.
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