Maharashtra EOW oppose ED’s intervention in probe against Ajit Pawar, other politicians
Mumbai: The Economic Offences Wing of the Mumbai police has objected to the Enforcement Directorate’s intervention into the alleged Rs 25.000 crore scam in the Maharashtra State Co-operative Bank (MSCB). The EOW has filed a closure report in the case in which several MLAs, MPs including Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar were under the scanner. However, the ED has approached the court seeking to intervene in the EOW’s closure report.
The ED is probing the money laundering aspect of the case. The Central agency had started its investigation based on the FIR filed by the EOW in August 2019. It has filed a main prosecution complaint and two supplementary charge-sheets after investigation. However, the ED has approached the court claiming that EOW’s closure report will affect their case.
The EOW on Thursday argued that a similar application of the ED was earlier rejected by the court and the central agency has come back to the court with the same application on the same grounds.
As per the EOW FIR, sugar cooperatives, spinning mills and other entities were sanctioned loans worth thousands of crores of rupees by district and cooperative banks. However, those funds were diverted and loans were not repaid. Ajit Pawar and more than 70 others, mostly politicians, who were directors of the MSC Bank during the relevant period were named as accused.
However the EOW filed the closure report in March this year stating “there was no unfair loss to the bank due to the alleged fraud”. It said that there is no criminal offence in the transactions allegedly linked to Ajit Pawar, his wife Sunetra Pawar, nephew Rohit Pawar, who is part of the Sharad Pawar-led faction of the NCP, and others.