MUMBAI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday arrested former Maharashtra deputy chief minister and senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal in connection with an alleged money laundering case in 2006.
Bhujbal and his family have been accused of accepting kickbacks in the multi-crore Maharashtra Sadan scam and parking the money at an unknown destination.
Bhujbal appeared before the agency officials along with his lawyer on Monday and the questioning went on till late evening leading to his arrest. A sizeable number of his supporters shouted slogans outside the ED office even as prohibitory orders were put in place to avoid untoward incidents.
The ED had earlier arrested Bhujbal’s nephew Sameer, a former MP, who is lodged in Arthur Road jail. Officials also questioned Bhujbal’s son Pankaj, a legislator.
The ED has said the Bhujbals played a crucial role in laundering huge sums and suppressed facts in a scam where the state exchequer lost Rs 870 crore. The ED also found books of accounts of some of the firms controlled by Bhujbals which have unexplained transactions, which could be kickbacks.
The case dates back to 2006 when Bhujbal was the minister for PWD. He allegedly awarded a contract of over Rs 100 crore for three projects which included construction of Maharashtra Sadan in New Delhi, violating norms.
The 2006 case that nailed the NCP leader
Bhujbal, PWD minister in 2006, allegedly awarded a contract of over `100 cr for three projects in gross violation of norms