26 July,2017 06:23 AM IST | Mumbai | Dharmendra Jore
Opposition's question to state over conviction rate of cyber crimes hits home for former revenue minister, who says he has been a victim of cyber crime
Uncertain of his political future after revelations regarding an alleged land purchase scam and charges that he spoke to underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and his family, former state revenue minister and BJP leader Eknath Khadse on Tuesday vented his ire against his own party's government when a question related to cyber crimes came up for discussion in the legislative assembly.
"I'm a victim of cyber crime. It happened almost a year ago, and the culprit is still free," said the BJP leader while referring to allegations made by 'ethical hacker' Manish Bhangale, who'd claimed that the former revenue minister had connected with underworld don Dawood Ibrahim's residence in Pakistan over the telephone. Bhangale had produced documents to prove his claim, which later turned out to be bogus and fabricated.
Unexpected boost
On Tuesday, the Opposition members got an unexpected boost from Khadse when he stood up to question minister of state for home Dr Ranjit Patil, who replied in absence of home minister and chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. The Opposition wanted to know the conviction rate in cyber crimes investigated by the police over the last three years.
Khadse said, "A senior representative like me had to suffer because of a fake cyber crime case. I had to step down (as a minister) and for almost one year my name was constantly linked with an international gangster." Khadse had resigned from the Cabinet last year in view of the allegations against him. "Police recently arrested a hacker for misleading the investigative authorities. The hacker got bail after the arrest but my name got maligned forever," he added.
Khadse's comeback to the state Cabinet now hinges on a report by a commission of inquiry over a land purchase scam and other related court cases.
Other than the government's independent inquiry, the Anti-Corruption Bureau has also filed an FIR against him in connection with the Bhosari MIDC land deal allegedly made in favour of Khadse's wife and kin.
Speaking on the sidelines of the session on Monday evening, Khadse said that he would fight it out all the baseless charges.
"Submissions made by us will prove that the land in question is owned by a private party and not by MIDC. The owner, who sold the land, still pays taxes that are due on that piece of land. The revenue department's 7/12 extract says that he is a legal owner. MIDC has failed to prove its ownership of the land," said a resolute Khadse.
No FIR against MIDC
Khadse said he and his family have approached the Pune police time and again for filing an FIR against MIDC for making wrongful claim on the land, but without any success.
"I don't know why the Pune police is not responding to our repeated request. They must allow our complaint and probe it," he said, adding that he would raise the point in the session at an appropriate time.
With inputs from Agencies
