MUMBAI: Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, NCP chief Sharad Pawar’s grand-nephew and NCP MLA Rohit Pawar on Friday received a ED notice from in connection with a money laundering case linked to Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank (MSCB).
According to the source, NCP MLA Rohit Pawar was summoned by ED on January 24 as part of its money laundering probe into the alleged Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank (MSCB) scam.
Earlier, the central agency raided the premises of Baramati Agro and its connected locations in Baramati and other places in Maharashtra. Baramati Agro (a company owned by Rohit Pawar).
The Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank money laundering case stems from an August 2019 FIR of the Mumbai Police's Economic Offences Wing.
Rohit Pawar in his Twitter account said that he has been receiving phone calls and messages inquiring about the ED notice.
“The ED officers are issued the notice as per instructions they got. However, I will extend all my cooperation to the agency as I did it earlier also. I requested ED that instead of January 24, he is ready to appear before them on January 22 and 23 because on January 24Maratha community is coming to Mumbai to pressure the reservations demand,” Rohit Pawar stated.
A senior NCP leader said that Rohit Pawar refused to join the Ajit Pawar-led faction and BJP-led government therefore the BJP and central agency on the behest of Ajit Pawar have been troubling Rohit Pawar, nothing will happen because Rohit Pawar has not done anything wrong.
“Everyone knows for whom ED is working? This is nothing but a political vendetta against the political opponents of the BJP. But we have decided to fight it out and not to succumb to the tyranny of the BJP and its central agencies,” he added.
BY Sudhir Suryawanshi