09 May,2015 02:05 PM IST | | Dharmendra Jore
CM confirmed that state will attempt to scrap allotment of a Powai flat obtained by Congress leader Kripashankar Singh, his son-in-law using false credentials; family’s other properties will also be reviewed
Amongst other charges of corruption against Congress leader Kripashankar Singh and his family, the city police have also determined that his son-in-law had obtained a plush flat in Powai under the Chief Minister's 10 per cent discretionary quota by misrepresenting facts.
The SIT concluded that Kripashankar Singh aided and abetted his son-in-law in procuring the flat using false documents. File pic
The SIT also concluded that Kripashankar, while being public servant (he was a legislator and minister then), aided and abetted Vijaykumar in procuring the flat under the state quota by submitting false documents and cheating the government.
With this revelation, the state has now started a process to scrap the allotment of the flat, which was later sold for over ten times the original cost. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis confirmed the development to mid-day. "I have asked the officers concerned to explore legal ways to scrap the allotment, and also examine what can be done to recover the losses incurred by the state exchequer," he said.
Fadnavis also added that properties that have been branded as Singh's benami assets would also come under the government's scanner, if they were part of the housing schemes built on government-allotted land.
The chargesheet submitted to the Special Court last month by the Special Investigations Team of Mumbai Police's Economic Offences Wing mentions some benami flats in Shree Sai Prasad Co-operative Housing Society in Bandra (East), where Kripashankar lives.
The SIT listed offences committed by the Singh family and charges against them under the Prevention of Corruption Act and various sections of the Indian Penal Code. The SIT states that the family has assets disproportionate to their known income.
The accused Kripashankar Singh, his wife Maltidevi, son Narendramohan, daughter Sunita and son-in-law Vijaykumar are likely to be tried as per this chargesheet. The former MLA and minster's son-in-law Vijaykumar was allotted an 862.46 sq ft-flat in Powai's Kingston Building in the year 2000.
However, a bogus address was provided for procuring a domicile certificate proof that Vijaykumar had stayed in Maharashtra for 15 years, which is a primary condition for getting a flat from the state quota.
The said flat was bought for Rs 3.53 lakh and was sold for Rs 39.9 lakh to a Mrs Sangita Dinesh Jakasania in 2007, earning a hefty profit. As per the rules, a penalty of Rs 1 lakh was paid to the state before the deal was registered.
