Enforcement Directorate attaches Chhagan Bhujbal's properties worth Rs 20.41cr

Taking a step forward in the investigation of the Maharashtra Sadan scam, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday attached properties worth Rs 20.41 crore of former deputy CM and NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal, his family members and other accused. With this, the total worth of the properties attached in the case till date has reached Rs 178 crore."

Chhagan Bhujbal

Bungalows attached
ED sources said a number of bungalows, flats and offices in Mumbai, Pune and Nashik were attached. Some of them were also mentioned in the list of properties that was prepared by the ACB after Bhujbal and his family members were booked in the disproportionate assets case last year. Lodged in Arthur Road Jail, he was arrested on March 14, 2016, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. His son and nephew Sameer were also arrested.

Case diary
Based on the FIRs registered by the Mumbai ACB in the Maharashtra Sadan construction scam and Kalina land grabbing case, the ED had filed two cases on June 17, 2015, against Bhujbal and his kin. The cases were registered after the ACB searched over 20 properties as part of its probe into alleged irregularities in awarding of contract worth Rs 100 crore for three projects in 2006, when Bhujbal was the deputy CM and PWD minister.

Bhujbal's lawyer Sajal Yadav said, "The properties attached by ED on Tuesday, have no connection with the proceeds of the crime or with the Maharashtra Sadan project. Some were procured by Bhujbal's grandmother and later handed over to him, and some he bought under the MLA quota years ago. The agency did this to influence bail proceedings."

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