Fadnavis clean chit to two of his ministers may backfire

MUMBAI: Three days after the police inspector heading a SIT that was probing the Rs16-crore Dadasaheb Rawal co-operative bank scam wrote to his district police superintendent

MUMBAI: Three days after the police inspector heading a SIT that was probing the Rs16-crore Dadasaheb Rawal co-operative bank scam wrote to his district police superintendent in Dhule that his team planned on arresting 56 accused in the scam, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis issued orders to transfer the probe to the CID.

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The transfer orders came after six of the bank’s directors and accused in the scam wrote to Fadnavis a day before the SIT chief ’s request, that the probe was politically motivated and should be given to an independent agency.

This was back in August 2015, but assumes significance now as accused Number 3 in the SIT’s FIR was the grandson of co-operative baron Dadasaheb Rawal and director of the bank — Jaykumar Rawal, who is among the two young faces inducted in the Fadnavis cabinet this month.

The probe into the scam was transferred even though in 2013, then Inspector General of Police, Deven Bharati denied a similar plea to transfer the case to CID. He had called for setting up a SIT to investigate the case as the crime, offenders and records were in Dondaicha, in the Dhule district.

The CM may have given a clean chit in the Assembly to all ministers facing allegations of corruption and wrongdoing. But the allegations against two young ministers — Rawal (tourism) and Sambhaji Nilangekar Patil (labour) — are likely to become sticking points with more details and documents against them coming to light. Both the ministers are facing criminal proceedings.

With the Opposition sharpening its attack against these two ministers and on Monday threatening to move court, it is likely that Fadnavis’ clean chit may come to haunt him. Consider this. Nilangekar was chargesheeted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for cheating, fabricating property records and mortgage deed papers to mortgage a plot of land in Nilanga, Latur, that was not officially in his name – as a guarantor for a distillery unit of a company, Victoria Agro.

It is also alleged that he offered the same plot of land as collateral to at least three other banks, including Union Bank of India and Bank of Maharashtra.

In the Dadasaheb Rawal scam, the SIT report has not been made public even as the probe was transferred barely three days after the investigation had been completed.

The August 24 order did not have the crime registration number and hence another order was issued on September 19, after Rawal met additional chief secretary (home).

This was noted in the order issued on September 19. The two BJP MLAs in the scam - Rawal and Vijay Kumar Gavit - are the only ones in the CID investigation to face inquiry under Criminal Procedure 178 (8), which gives leeway for further investigation if new evidence is found. The other 26 directors have been charged with misappropriation of property, cheating etc.

In response to the allegations, Nilangekar Patil said, “I inherited this plot through my father after his death in 1999. My grandfather has contested this but the fact is I continue to pay taxes on it till date. My grandfather, also my political opponent, filed this complaint against the company and me, which led to the bank stopping the instalments to the company. This led to the losses for the company as working capital was stopped for seven months. I was just a guarantor for the loan as I had requested the company to invest in my constituency. I have already filed a discharge plea in the case and the company has also filed a case against the bank. The only reason the CBI came into the picture is because the bank is a nationalised. This is a politically motivated case made against me stemming from family feud.”

Earlier this month, the CM had said in his reply on the corruption debate that Nilangekar’s case was a family feud over a land title since both he and his grandfather, former CM Shivajirao Nilangekar have been in a longstanding tussle and are political opponents. He said as the matter pertains to a national bank, the CBI is in the picture.

In Rawal’s case, the CM said the case was transferred to the CID as the earlier SIT was politically motivated and there were complaints of harassment from the investigating officer. The CID is autonomous and independent. No charge has been proven against Rawal, the CM had said.

The Leader of opposition, Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, however, said on Monday his party was likely to move court against these two ministers as Fadnavis had side-stepped the allegations in his reply and misguided the Assembly.

“Nilangekar faces allegations similar to liquor baron Vijay Mallya. While the CM gave him a clean chit terming this as a family feud over land, he side-stepped the accusation we had levelled that he was a guarantor for land that was Non Performing Asset (NPA). It was not this family plot but another piece of land, not belonging to him,’’ said Vikhe-Patil.

In the case of Rawal, VikhePatil said, “Fadnavis transferred the case to CID on the basis of a plea made by six directors, who were accused in the scam. Now, will the CM intervene in the police investigation on the basis of a plea made by the accused and defend this as a political case? Rawal, another accused, and now a minister, intervened in the case to get the home department to re-issue the transfer order with the crime registration number put in it,’’ added Vikhe-Patil.