CBI charges Chavan, he smells conspiracy
5 July 2012 1:55 AM GMT
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has named the former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan in the Adarsh housing society scam. The 10,000-odd-page-long chargesheet revealed that Chavan and his relatives owned three apartments in the controversial building. The CBI sources said that all 13 accused who have been named in the chargesheet directly or indirectly owned at least one apartment in the building.
The former chief ministers Sushil Kumar Shinde and Vilas Rao Deshmukh have not been named in the chargesheet.
Chavan’s relatives, including his brother-in-law and mother-in-law, owned three houses in the building. ‘He has been accused of granting approval to the upscale housing society as a quid pro quo for allotment of two flats for his kin,’ the CBI said in the chargesheet.
Chavan has blamed the CBI’s action of naming him while leaving out other former chief ministers on political conspiracy against him. The statements of Deshmukh and Shinde, who are under the scanner in the Adarsh scam, have not been incorporated in the chargesheet.
The CBI probe in the case started after it registered a case in the scam in Colaba, Mumbai, on 29 January last year under different sections of the Indian Penal Code, including criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery and showing forged documents as genuine, besides sections pertaining to the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The CBI has charged Chavan with approving additional floor space index for the housing society during his tenure as the chief minister. The CBI also accused Chavan, in his capacity as revenue minister between 2001-03, of illegally approving the allotment of 40 per cent of flats for civilians in the housing society, which was said to be meant for the widows of the soldiers of the Kargil War and war heroes. He had dealt with files pertaining to the ownership of land.
The CBI said that it has dropped two names among the 14 people against whom an FIR was filed. They are retired brigadiers P K Rampal and Romesh Chandra Sharma. However, the CBI included the name of retired colonel R Bakshi, who allegedly gave a letter certifying that the land did not belong to the army. The CBI also said in the chargesheet that benami transactions were still under investigations and the agency might file a supplementary chargesheet.
The former chief ministers Sushil Kumar Shinde and Vilas Rao Deshmukh have not been named in the chargesheet.
Chavan’s relatives, including his brother-in-law and mother-in-law, owned three houses in the building. ‘He has been accused of granting approval to the upscale housing society as a quid pro quo for allotment of two flats for his kin,’ the CBI said in the chargesheet.
Chavan has blamed the CBI’s action of naming him while leaving out other former chief ministers on political conspiracy against him. The statements of Deshmukh and Shinde, who are under the scanner in the Adarsh scam, have not been incorporated in the chargesheet.
The CBI probe in the case started after it registered a case in the scam in Colaba, Mumbai, on 29 January last year under different sections of the Indian Penal Code, including criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery and showing forged documents as genuine, besides sections pertaining to the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The CBI has charged Chavan with approving additional floor space index for the housing society during his tenure as the chief minister. The CBI also accused Chavan, in his capacity as revenue minister between 2001-03, of illegally approving the allotment of 40 per cent of flats for civilians in the housing society, which was said to be meant for the widows of the soldiers of the Kargil War and war heroes. He had dealt with files pertaining to the ownership of land.
The CBI said that it has dropped two names among the 14 people against whom an FIR was filed. They are retired brigadiers P K Rampal and Romesh Chandra Sharma. However, the CBI included the name of retired colonel R Bakshi, who allegedly gave a letter certifying that the land did not belong to the army. The CBI also said in the chargesheet that benami transactions were still under investigations and the agency might file a supplementary chargesheet.
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