Eknath Khadse, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader, has been granted bail by a court in Mumbai in connection with an alleged money laundering case linked to a land deal in Pune district involving his family members
NCP MLC Eknath Khadse. File Pic
Eknath Khadse, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader, has been granted bail by a court in Mumbai in connection with an alleged money laundering case linked to a land deal in Pune district involving his family members, stated a PTI report.
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The former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, who is now aligned with the Sharad Pawar camp of the NCP, had previously secured interim protection from arrest granted by the court in October 2021, a safeguard that remained in effect until today, the report stated.
Khadse, along with his wife, stands accused in the charge sheet presented by the Enforcement Directorate regarding the aforementioned case. Justice RN Rokade, the special judge for criminal cases involving MPs and MLAs, has permitted his release on bail, contingent on posting a bond of Rs 2,00,000, with one or more sureties of a similar amount.
Additionally, the court has imposed the condition that Khadse, a former Maharashtra minister, is not to leave India without explicit permission. He is also instructed not to tamper with prosecution witnesses or evidence in any way and is expected to cooperate for the swift resolution of the trial, as directed by the court, stated the PTI report.
Eknath Khadse, who was a senior minister in the previous BJP-led government in Maharashtra, had to step down from his position in 2016 due to allegations of abusing his authority to facilitate the acquisition of government land in the Bhosari industrial area near Pune by his wife and son-in-law, Girish Chaudhary.
The Enforcement Directorate alleged that the Khadse family acquired the land for Rs 3.75 crore, significantly below its actual market value of Rs 31.01 crore. In his bail application, which was filed through his legal representatives, Mohan Tekavde and Swati Tekavde, Khadse vehemently asserted that he had no involvement in the land deal and had no connection to any activities associated with the alleged proceeds of crime. He further contended that the allegations set forth in the charge sheet had their roots in political rivalry.
Khadse joins NCP
Eknath Khadse left BJP on a sour note in 2020 and ended his nearly four-decade-old association with the party. After siding with the NCP, he was elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Council. He recently claimed that Ajit Pawar's faction asked him to switch over but he had denied doing so.
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