Eknath Khadse resigned from Maharashtra cabinet in 2016 over allegations in the land deal. (File)
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Eknath Khadse's son-in-law Girish Choudhary has been remanded to Enforcement Directorate custody till July 19 in a money laundering case.
"Today, the Enforcement Directorate arrested Girish Chaudhary in a money laundering case. Enforcement Directorate initiated money laundering investigation on the basis of FIR dated April 10, 2017 registered by the Anti-Corruption Bureau, Pune, Maharashtra against Eknath Ganpatrao Khadse, Mandakini Eknath Khadse, Girish Dayaram Chaudhary and Abbas Rasalbhai Ukani under section 13(1)(d), 13(3)(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 alleging, therein, that land grab of a plot at village Bhosari, Taluka Haveli, District Pune having Survey No 52/2A/2 belonging to MIDC and causing a loss to the exchequer to the tune of Rs 61.25 crores by fraudulently entering into sale deed", read an official release.
During money laundering investigation, it was revealed that Girish with the connivance of others knowingly entered into a sale deed to acquire the said land despite the land belonging to Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) to avail compensation that was more than 2.5 to 3 times of actual value of land.
Further, it is also revealed that the land was registered at a much lower rate i.e. only at Rs 3.75 crore against the prevailing value of Rs 31 crore. During the investigation, it was found that the accused claimed the source of the fund to purchase the said property as he loan from some companies.
However, it is revealed that these funds were layered and routed through shell companies, which are either dysfunctional or strike off later on. After the arrest, Girish Chaudhary was produced before the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) Court seeking custody of the accused. The PMLA Court has granted custody of the accused to the Enforcement Directorate till July 12 this year.
Further investigation is under progress.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)