Lagatar24 Desk
Mumbai, Oct.7: The Income Tax Department raided certain businesses associated to Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar’s family members, as well as some real estate developers, on suspicion of tax cheating on Thursday. The searches have taken place in Mumbai, Pune, Satara, and a few other cities of Maharashtra and Goa.
The ongoing operation includes covering sites associated to business groups such as DB Realty, Shivalik, Jarandeshwar Sahkari Sugar Karkhana (Jarandeshwar SSK), and enterprises linked to Pawar’s sisters. Certain documents have been discovered and are being studied, according to official sources.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) attached approximately Rs 65 crore worth of land, building, plant, and machinery of Jarandeshwar SSK’s sugar factory in Chimangaon-Koregaon in Satara in July under the anti-money laundering law.
Pawar and his family were tied to the cooperative-run sugar factory, according to the ED.
“The assets (of Jarandeshwar SSK) are currently held in the name of Guru Commodity Services Pvt Ltd (an alleged dummy company) and leased to Jarandeshwar Sugar Mills Pvt Ltd,” the ED had alleged in a statement.
“Sparkling Soil Pvt Ltd is holding majority shares of Jarandeshwar Sugar Mills and investigations revealed that the former firm is related company to Ajit Pawar, deputy chief minister of Maharashtra, and Sunetra Ajit Pawar (his wife),” it had alleged.
Pawar had then denied any wrongdoing.
The ED action was taken as part of its investigation into the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank (MSCB) scam, in which it is alleged that SSKs were fraudulently sold at throw away prices to MSCB officials and directors’ own relatives and private people “without following” the SARFAESI Act’s due procedure.
MSCB auctioned Jarandeshwar SSK in 2010 at a “undervalued price” and without following proper procedure, according to the ED.
“Ajit Pawar was one of the prominent and influential members of board of directors of MSCB at the relevant time.”
“The SSK was purchased by Guru Commodity Services Pvt Ltd and was immediately leased to Jarandeshwar Sugar Mills Pvt Ltd, which is presently operating the Jarandeshwar SSK,” the ED claimed.
The “majority” of the cash used to purchase the SSK came from Jarandeshwar Sugar Mills Pvt Ltd, which got them via Sparkling Soil Pvt Ltd, a company linked to NCP leader Ajit Pawar and his wife, the agency claimed, tying the NCP politician to the crime.
The attached sugar mill was “actually controlled and run” by Jarandeshwar Sugar Mills Pvt Ltd, according to the ED.
Pawar in this regard has said that he has no complaint, but feels bad over similar action taken against his relative’s firms.
“It is true IT has raided a few firms related to me. It is their right… I don’t know whether they were conducted for political purposes or they want more information as we have been paying taxes on time,” the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader told the media in Mumbai.
“However, my only grief is that they conducted raids on the premises related to my three sisters. One of them stays in Kolhapur and other two in Pune,” he added.
The deputy CM said he could not understand the reason behind raids on them.
“If raids were conducted because they are my sisters, then people of the state should think about the level the central agencies are being misused,” added Pawar.
