MUMBAI: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA from Solapur in western Maharashtra Ramesh Kadam was arrested along with his 64 supporters for attacking a police station in his constituency, Mohol, in the last week of June. All of them were released on bail in less than a week. Kadam showed his appreciation for their support by gifting each one of them a brand new Royal Enfield Bullet motorcycle.
Kadam’s extravagant move did not surprise his supporters, but it raised eyebrows in political circles. Within a fortnight, the state’s Crime Investigation Department (CID) revealed the secret of Kadam’s bonanza. It submitted a report to the state government stating that the MLA had committed a fraud to the tune of `526 crore in the state-run corporation Annabhau Sathe Magasvargiya Vikas Mahamandal under his chairmanship. The corporation has been set up to financially assist the poor from backward castes.
The CID investigation has opened a Pandora’s Box on how Kadam, 42, misused government money for his own benefits. He purchased at least 21 luxurious cars—including Mercedes, Audi, BMW and Rolls Royce—in name of the poor and gifted them to his supporters, mostly from the NCP.
Kadam also approved `2 crore to buy seven acres of land in Aurangabad to construct a building for the corporation. The land was bought in his name instead of the corporation’s. A builder was paid construction charges at a rate of `7,000 per square foot; not a single brick has been laid at the site so far.
Minister of State for Social Welfare Department Dilip Kamble, under whose jurisdiction the corporation falls, termed the CID report a tip of the iceberg. “We are looking into all the transactions that took place in Kadam’s tenure. We have sent notices to those who received luxurious cars from the government money. Many of them are ready to pay for the cars. We will recover the money and also book them for forgery,” Kamble said.
Kadam has disappeared since the CID report became public two weeks ago. The agency has filed a First Information Report (FIR) against him in Dahisar police station of Mumbai for cheating and misappropriation of public money, but has not been able to trace him since then.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also holds the Home Department, said that the police have launched an extensive search for Kadam. “We will nab him soon,” he said. NCP leader Ajit Pawar said that action should be taken against Kadam if he is guilty.
Kadam, a second-time MLA, began his political career as a close aid to former NCP minister Laxman Dhobale. He rapidly rose in the corridors of power using his proximity to Dhobale.
The NCP had placed a big bet him by projecting him as the party’s Dalit face in Solapur. It will have to revise its strategy now.