Bhujbal arrested in the Maharashtra Sadan scam
NCP leader and former Maharashtra Deputy CM Chhagan Bhujbal was arrested today. The arrest came after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) questioned Bhujbal in the Rs.870 Maharashtra Sadan money laundering case. The ED has affirmed that the Bhujbals took cash to award projects to contractors and "channeled such illegal cash into various companies and integrated it into business activities" of companies that they controlled.
Maharashtra's Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) sought permission from the home ministry to question Chaggan Bhujbal for his alleged role in the Maharashtra Sadan scam. The PWD Minister was accused of awarding the contract for New Delhi's Maharashtra Sadan building to his associate. The project's cost was raised to Rs. 150 crore against an original projection of Rs. 52 crore and no tenders were floated.
ACB got the state home ministry's nod to probe the NCP leader. NCP's unconditional support to the BJP-led government in the state is seen as an attempt to hide corruption cases against the party's senior leaders. ACB's request to probe Bhujbal came after BJP's Lok Sabha member Kirit Somaiya's complaint seeking an investigation against Bhujbal for financial favours to his associates.
The SIT questioned Chhagan Bhujbal's nephew and former MP Sameer Bhujbal over the Maharashtra Sadan scam. Officials of the state's Anti-Corruption Bureau and Enforcement Directorate comprised the SIT, which questioned Sameer at ACB's Worli headquarters. The SIT was formed by the Bombay High Court in response to a PIL filed by the Aam Aadmi Party.
ACB registered a case against Bhujbal, his son, nephew and 16 others. The contractor to whom the project was awarded, sub-contracted the work to other companies which were controlled by Bhujbal's son and nephew. Earlier, the ACB also filed a FIR against Bhujbal for leasing out government land in Mumbai to a real estate company for 99 years at just Rs. 1/ square metre.
Earlier, Chhagan Bhujbal's name also came up in the infamous stamp paper scam when the prime accused Abdul Karim Telgi admitted to making payments to Chhagan Bhujbal in return for favours.
2 money laundering cases were registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against the Bhujbal family. According to the ED, the Bhujbal family used the money they earned through corruption to purchase a mine outside India. ED also said that companies which had purchased the shares of the two companies promoted by Bhujbal family were non-existent.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) may file more FIRs against the former Public Works Department (PWD) minister Chhagan Bhujbal. At present, 3 cases have been registered against Bhujbal by the ACB and enquiry is ongoing into six other complaints by Anjali Damania of the AAP. The ACB is investigating all cases where Bhujbal might have received kickbacks for awarding contracts to private firms.
Information Commissioner DB Deshpande of the Aurangabad Division quit amid the ongoing investigations into the multi-crore Maharashtra Sadan scam. Maharashtra governor CV Rao accepted Deshpande's resignation following his alleged involvement in the scam. Deshpande's name figures in a first information report filed by the Maharashtra anti-corruption bureau (ACB) against Bhujbal and 16 others. He is the first senior official to quit over the case.
The Enforcement Directorate attached a plot of land in Navi Mumbai, valued at Rs.160 crore, belonging to the family of former Cabinet Minister Chagan Bhujbal. An ED official confirmed that the 25-acre plot near Kharghar, Navi Mumbai, had been attached under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. He added that the ED "might attach some more properties in the days to come."
In a fresh action against former PWD minister Chhagan Bhujbal, the Enforcement Directorate searched multiple premises in Mumbai in connection with the ongoing money laundering probe. Officials said the premises covered under the action include properties and offices belonging to Bhujbal, son Pankaj, ex-MP nephew Samir and few others. A team of 20 officers of the ED's Mumbai zonal unit conducted the operation.
The Maharashtra Anti-Corruption Bureau has filed a charge sheet against senior NCP leader and former state minister Chhagan Bhujbal in the Maharashtra Sadan scam. His son Pankaj, nephew Sameer and 14 others are also named in the chargesheet. Investigations revealed that the contractor earned 80% profit in the construction of Maharashtra Sadan in Delhi. The rules allowed for only 20%.
