103 ACRES FOR JUST 9.4 LAKH …….Sudhir.Suryawanshi
ACB SMELLS HAWALA IN KRIPASHANKAR’S MANGO ORCHARD
Farm’s market value was Rs 5 crore when it was bought in 2004; Anti-Corruption Bureau suspects several crores changed hands
ACB SMELLS HAWALA IN KRIPASHANKAR’S MANGO ORCHARD
Farm’s market value was Rs 5 crore when it was bought in 2004; Anti-Corruption Bureau suspects several crores changed hands
Despite a series of revelations surrounding his unexplained wealth, city Congress chief Kripashankar Singh keeps throwing up surprises. After a number of articles in the media – including three front-page stories in Mumbai Mirror itself – a mango orchard bought by him in Ratnagiri stands out for its alarmingly low price-tag.
Six years ago, the Kalina MLA purchased the lavish 103-acre property for a recorded price of only Rs 9.4 lakh, less than two per cent of its market value at the time. The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) is investigating the deal for suspected hawala transactions running into several crores. The land, situated in Wadapeth village, Rajapur tehsil, Ratnagiri was bought from a group of 46 sellers on May 20, 2004, when its estimated price was Rs 5 crore. The current price of the farm, realestate agents in the area say, is almost three times as much.
According to the purchase agreement in possession of Mumbai Mirror, Kripashankar bought the farm (at approximately Rs 9,100 per acre, or 21 paise per square feet) in partnership with his wife Malati Devi; R N Singh, the owner of security agency Bombay Intelligence; and R N Singh’s son, Santosh Singh.
Around the time of this purchase, Kripashankar had allegedly granted hundreds of gun licences to security agencies, in his capacity as the Minister of State for Home in the Democratic Front government, including several to Singh’s Bombay Intelligence. He was also a director of Santosh Carewell, another security company owned by Santosh Singh.
When contacted about the farm deal, Kripashankar declined to comment. “I have nothing to say on this matter. You write whatever you want,” he said. R N Singh and his son Santosh were unavailable despite several attempts to contact them. A multi-agency probe into Kripashankar’s alleged unexplained wealth is being conducted by the ACB, Income-Tax, and the Enforcement Directorate since February. A case for alleged disproportionate assets against the Congress leader, running into hundreds of crores, is being heard in the Bombay High Court after a PIL was filed by Sanjay Tiwari in March. Apart from giving details of Kripashankar and his family’s wealth, the petition asks for Kripashankar to be probed in the Rs 2,000 crore hawala scam involving former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda.
The Division Bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice S C Dharmadhikari will next hear the case on August 5.