NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal speaking to the NDTV reporter
The Nationalist Congress Party Leader (NCP) leader Chhagan Bhujbal, 68, had a dream. He wanted to be the chief minister of Maharashtra. But with the recent cases against him, the former minister is living a nightmare these days.
On February 24, Mr Bhujbal, son Pankaj and a few others were chargesheeted by the Anti-Corruption Bureau for cheating, forgery and conspiracy for their alleged involvement in the Maharashtra Sadan scam.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has already arrested his nephew and former MP Sameer Bhujbal accusing him and the Bhujbal family of siphoning and laundering public money to the tune of ₹870 crores.
The ED alleges kickbacks the Bhujbals got for awarding various government contracts were parked abroad and then pumped into a complex maze of shell companies in India.
NDTV's investigation has also revealed that the companies seem to only exist on paper. The ED claims Hingora Finvest Pvt Ltd was allotted 26,000 shares at a value of nearly ₹26 crore by Parvesh Constructions, a company controlled by the Bhujbals.
When NDTV visited the registered address of Hingora Finvest in city’s Dahisar area, the flat owner turned out to be just an astrologer, Mr Vinod Chaturvedi.
"I have nothing to do with the Bhujbals. No such company is registered here. I don't even have ₹26 lakhs. Our entire building with so many flats also won't be worth ₹26 crores," he said breaking into giggles.
In South Mumbai, the NDTV team tried to trace three other firms Macrosoft, Nicco and Pentium which had purchased shares worth ₹50 lakhs and more, but could not find one.
In Guwahati, the attempt to locate Novelty Traders, which had bought 500 shares for ₹50 lakhs totally failed. "I am here for the past 15 years. There has been no Novelty Traders ever here," said Rinku Das, manager of a printing press at the same address.
But Mr Bhujbal insists these are genuine firms. "Companies are often registered at one place and then they move their office elsewhere when they become more successful," he justified.
But how could all companies not be at their given addresses as the ED has found?
"That's wrong, “Mr Bhujbal said, adding “But we will still prove in court that these are genuine companies.".
One of the contracts in which the Bhujbals allegedly got kickbacks is the construction of the swanky Maharashtra Sadan in New Delhi in 2006. Mr Bhujbal insists the contract was cleared by the cabinet led by then Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and not him.
The ED also found that shares of Mr Bhujbal’s firms, Parvesh Constructions and Armstrong Energy valued at Rs 100 per share, were sold at an "unrealistically high premium" of nearly Rs 10,000 per share: and this was in lieu of cash to the tune of Rs 125 crores.
"Yes, shares valued at Rs 100 went up to Rs 10,000 because that much potential for wealth was there in that land. No way is that a scam," Mr Bhujbal said.
BJP MP Kirit Somaiya alleged the Bhujbals used layers and layers of companies to hide the money trail but failed.
"It's a complex maze. They stashed the kickbacks they got abroad and they created dummy companies which didn't event work for a single day. For me, it's abuse of power. It's corruption and he will be arrested too," Mr Somaiya said
So how did the Bhujbal Empire become so huge?
"Why don't you ask this question to Dhirubhai or Adani as to what their wealth was then and now? From selling vegetables to running luxury buses to rubber factories we have had many businesses. Our property is either hereditary or bought 40-45 years ago. Now their rates have increased. What can I do about it?" Mr Bhujbal said.