It rained Rs 9 lakh in Kothrud society when ACB men knocked at top official’s door
Pune, February 28: When a squad headed by Anti Corruption Bureau’s Deputy Commissioner of Police C G Kumbhar reached Swapna Shilp Society in Kothrud at 7 am on Wednesday, there was flurry of activity inside the fifth floor flat number J/ 16. A few minutes later bundles of currency notes and important documents came flying out of the toilet window.
The money and papers were thrown out by Pratiksha, wife of deputy municipal commissioner (general) Shirish Ramchandra Yadav who was arrested along with two other civic officials— legal advisor Ravindra Nivrutti Thorat and junior engineer Madhusudan Yenkar from development plan department on Wednesday for their involvement in the Rs 14 crore Kothrud TDR scam that had rocked the city one and half years ago. The ACB recovered Rs 9.59 lakh from Yadav’s flat and also sealed the PMC offices of all three men. Municipal commissioner Nitin Kareer said the ACB had informed him about the raids early in the morning and submitted a letter about sealing the offices. “They have sealed the offices to carry out investigation for filing a separate chargesheet,” he said.
The ACB carried out simultaneous raids at the residences of all three officials. Thorat lives at Jawahar Nagar on Ganeshkhind Road and Yenkar’s home is at Vishalnagar in Pimple Nilakh.
The officials were arrested for misusing their official positions, indulging in malpractices and knowingly aiding and abetting the other accused. “These officers ensured that the original documents of the ownership of the land disappeared and even tampered with the land record evidence,” said Kumbhar.
Yadav was then the head of the land and estates department while Yenkar was working with the building permission department.
The Pune police have so far arrested 16 people including the six civic officials and recovered Rs 1.40 crore including ‘benami’ property worth Rs 60 lakh.
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