Ajit Pawar on radar after Anil Deshmukh? ED attaches Jarandeshwar sugar factory linked to Ajit Pawar

Mumbai : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth over Rs 65 crore including properties linked to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in connection with the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank (MSCB) scam. ED has taken action against Jarandeshwar Sugar Factory linked to Deputy CM Ajit Pawar. The ED has seized the sugar factory in the multi-crore financial fraud case. After this action, it is being said whether Ajit Pawar is now on the ED’s radar?

According to the ED, around Rs 20 crore was invested in Guru Commodities, the company that bought the factory from Sunetra Pawar’s Jai Agrotech in the Jarandeshwar case. Ajit Pawar’s cousin Rajendra Ghadge is the director of the company that bought Jarandeshwar. At the same time when Ajit Pawar was the director of the State Co-operative Bank, he was accused of acquiring the factory at a low price and taking it in the name of his own relatives. This investment was made by his wife Sunetra Pawar.

Guru Commodity Factory was given on rent to Jarandeshwar Sugar Mills Private Limited. Sparkling Soil Pvt Ltd holds the largest stake in the factory.

Meanwhile, the ED has attached assets worth Rs 65.75 crore. The sugar factory was in the possession of Rajendra Ghadge, a close aide of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. The Jarandeshwar sugar factory in Satara was put up for auction due to bad debts. The Maharashtra State Co-operative Bank auctioned the factory in 2010 and sold it to Guru Commodity Services Pvt Ltd. The transaction took place at a rate much below the market price and the ED has alleged that rules were not followed in the auction process.

However, former MLA and former Revenue Minister Shalinitai Patil had said that there was malpractice in this case. Although the factory was auctioned off due to bad debts, there has been malpractice in this case. Shalinitai had alleged that Ajit Pawar had confiscated the factory from her. Shalinitai was the founder and chairman of the factory.