27 February,2024 11:19 AM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
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The Mumbai Police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has launched a probe into the Shiv Sena (UBT) faction in response to an alleged instance of cheating and forgery, officials said Tuesday.
According to Mumbai Police, the investigation was begun against the Shiv Sena (UBT) faction following a complaint filed by the Eknath Shinde-led party. The complaint claims that the Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena fraction took Rs 50 crores from the party fund despite the Election Commission recognising the Shinde group as the genuine Shiv Sena, reported ANI.
According to the report by news agency ANI, previously, the Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde met with Mumbai Police Commissioner Vivek Phansalkar to file a police charge against Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena UBT officials for cheating and fraud.
They stated that the UBT faction was exploiting the party's PAN and TAN details and fraudulently filing Shiv Sena's TDS and Income Tax forms, the report added.
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It further stated that the EOW has also contacted the Income Tax Department to find out who is liable for paying taxes for the UBT faction, as reported by the Mumbai Police.
A statement of the Mumbai Police, cited in the ANI report, stated that EOW launched an investigation against Sena (UBT) for allegedly withdrawing Rs 50 crores from the party fund.
"EOW begins probe after Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) complained against Shiv Sena (UBT faction) that Shiv Sena (UBT faction) withdrew Rs 50 crores from party fund even after the Election Commission declared Shinde faction as the real Shiv Sena. EOW has also written to the Income Tax Department seeking information regarding who is paying the tax of the UBT faction," the Mumbai Police statement read, per the ANI report.
On February 17, 2023, the Election Commission of India (ECI) recognised Eknath Shinde's group as the "real" Shiv Sena, over eight months after his insurrection broke the parent party into two parts. The voting body also assigned Shinde's team the original party symbol, the 'bow-and-arrow'.
The bow and arrow symbol was frozen and allotted the 'two swords and shield' symbol to the Shinde faction and the 'flaming torch' symbol was to the Uddhav camp after Eknath Shinde staked a claim for the party following his coup. Both factions had approached the poll body and doors of the court, the ANI report stated.
