An FIR was filed against Dhananjay Munde in 2013. (File)
A court in Maharashtra's Beed district has ordered the attachment of the properties of senior Nationalist Congress Party leader Dhananjay Munde in connection with a cheating case lodged against him for allegedly duping a cooperative bank.
In 2013, a First Information Report or an FIR was filed at Parli City police station against Munde and others alleging that Sant Jagmitra Co-operative Cotton Mill, situated in Parli in Beed district, had taken loans of several crore rupees from Beed District Central Co-operative bank between 2003 and 2011 and had failed to repay them.
The FIR, filed against Munde and other directors of the cotton mill, said that the loan was obtained without following due process and without checking if it had the ability to repay the loan.
Munde, Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Council, has been one of the directors of the bank since 2006.
Judge Dhananjay Deshpande of the additional district court of Ambajogai, in his order on September 5, stated that the properties belonging to Munde are attached and he is prohibited from transferring or charging the said properties and all persons are prohibited from taking any benefit from such charge or transfer.
Munde Thursday told reporters that the court's judgement was being "twisted' to damage his reputation.
"Nowhere does the order state that properties of the directors be confiscated. The properties are only to be attached and no transactions can happen over them. Also, this is only an interim order," Munde claimed.
He further claimed that he did not get prior notice due to which he could not defend his stand.
"Once we receive the notice, we will start the legal process of getting this order quashed," he added.
Munde said that he was just one of the 17 directors of the Sant Jagmitra Co-operative Cotton Mill and claimed that he had cooperated in the investigation process.
"The Court's orders are being twisted by my opponents to defame me. Those who drowned the Beed District Central Co-operative bank are BJP workers and, even today, are seen sharing stage with the guardian minister," Munde alleged.