Court extends ED custody of Eknath Khadse's son-in-law till July 19 in money-laundering case

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A special court here on Thursday extended till July 19 the ED custody of NCP leader Eknath Khadse's son-in-law Girish Chaudhari in a money laundering case linked to the alleged irregularities in a 2016 purchase of a land plot in Pune. Chaudhari was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on July 6 after being questioned at length in connection with the case. At the end of Chaudhari's earlier remand on Thursday, he was produced before a special court hearing cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The court extended his custody as sought by the ED to probe the matter further. The ED has alleged that Chaudhari and Khadse had purchased a government land in Bhosari near Pune for Rs 3.75 crore when the actual cost of the land as per the valuation provided by sub registrar was Rs 31.01 crore. The agency had said it appears that Khadse, who was then the state revenue minister, by misusing his official position, had "coerced and forced" the concerned officials to facilitate the purchase of government land of the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) by his family in Bhosari area.

Khadse, 68, had left the BJP to join the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) of former Maharashtra chief minister Sharad Pawar last year. He was questioned in the case by the ED early this year. Khadse had resigned from the Devendra Fadnavis-led Maharashtra cabinet in 2016 after facing allegations in the same land deal.

However, he has denied any wrongdoing, saying that the Maharashtra Anti-Corruption Bureau as well as the Income Tax department had given him a clean chit in the matter.

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