Former top cop\'s revelations in book puts Ajit Pawar in trouble

Mumbai: Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar has found himself in a controversy over the allegations made by the former police commissioner of Pune Meeran Borwankar, who has alleged that the NCP leader, who was then Pune district guardian minister, had called an auction of land that belonged to the police.

In her memoir titled ‘Madam Commissioner,’ Borwankar revealed that Pawar took the decision to sell the land to a private party, which was subsequently found to be an accused in the 2G scam by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). However, she later managed to get back through a ‘tough struggle.’

Notably, Borwankar doesn’t mention Pawar by name in the book, but only refers to him as ‘district minister’ or ‘Dada.' According to the police officer, when she was summoned by Ajit Pawar to hand over the land, she refused because she felt it was needed for police use and the housing of police personnel.

In the chapter titled ‘The Minister,’ Borwankar writes, “I received a call from the divisional commissioner that the district minister had asked for me. He also mentioned that the issue of the Yerawada police station land needed to be discussed. I met the district minister in the divisional commissioner’s office. He had a huge paper map of the area with him. He explained that the auction had been successfully concluded and I should proceed to hand over the land to the top bidder. I replied that as Yerawada had become literally the centre of Pune, the police would never get such prime land in future. And that we needed it to construct more offices as well as residential quarters for the police. I added that having recently taken over, giving police land to a private party would be perceived as the new police commissioner having sold herself out. But the minister simply overruled me and insisted that I complete the process, which he declared was over.”

Further, Borwankar wrote in the book, “Unhappy with his instructions, I asked him politely why my predecessor – the previous police commissioner – had not handed over the land if the auction had already concluded. I even said that the process itself was flawed in my opinion, and against the interest of the police department. It would just not be possible for me to relinquish such a prime piece of police land to a private party when we ourselves needed it, I told him gently but with finality. The minister lost his cool and hurled the map at the glass table.”

Realising that Borwankar had no intention of giving away the police land, the highest bidder for the land, who had already given Rs 1 crore as advance payment to the Maharashtra Home Department, went to Bombay High Court, she said in the book.

Ajit Pawar’s office has denied the allegations made against him in Borwankar’s book. “Ajit Pawar was not involved in the said issue and has no connection with the land mentioned in the report,” his office said.