Raided ciggy co has links to Adarsh scam

Nagpur: A flat in upmarket Shivaji Nagar locality’s Rachana Galaxy Apartments, linked to the Adarsh Society scam of Mumbai, seems to be the permanent address for many shell companies. The cigarette factory at Pandhurna, some 100km away in Madhya Pradesh, which was raided last week by the intelligence wing of GST department and directorate of revenue intelligence (DRI), too has links to this address.
The cigarette unit, which allegedly evaded duty running into crores, is run by a company Aroma Productions Private Limited with its address at 702, Rachana Galaxy, Shivaji Nagar. Snehal Patel and Jayesh Solanki from Ahmedabad are directors in the company.

Eight years ago, funding for one of the flats in the Adarsh Society scam was traced to the same flat. A search by TOI showed that a number of other companies too have the same address.

Adarsh Society was a multi-storey tower built on defence land at Mumbai’s Colaba area. Many benami flats with links to businessmen and politicians were found in the building. In majority of the cases, the dealings had a Nagpur connect.

One of the flat was allotted to former MLA from Katol, Mukund Mankar, who was close to NCP leader Anil Deshmukh, also from the same area. Deshmukh was the civil supplies minister in the NCP-Congress regime while Mankar did not have the means to buy the property.

Mankar had paid Rs70 lakh for the flat in Adarsh Society. He was lent the money by Landscapers Realtors Private Limited, which had got the funds from a web of companies. Most of the entities had a Deshmukh connect. One of it was Rabia Properties, which lent Rs9 lakh to Landscapers Realtors.

Deshmukh’s son Hrishikesh was one of the directors in Rabia Properties, whose official address is also 702, Rachana Galaxy. Rabia Properties later went on to become Rabia Logistics. The other directors of the company were Sagar Bhatewara and Snehal Patel. TOI had reported the case in 2012.

Patel, now also a director in Aroma Productions, is under the scanner in the cigarette unit case. Both Aroma Productions and Rabia Logistics have the same address — 702 Rachana Galaxy. Even today Deshmukh and Patel remain directors in Rabia Logistics, though Deshmukh is not a director in Aroma Productions.

Sagar Bhatewara though not a director in Aroma Productions is also under scanner in the cigarette case A close friend of the Deshmukhs, he was also a director in Rabia Properties, which was linked to the Adarsh case. It is learnt that sleuths have not been able to locate Bhatewara yet.

Patel is a director in 20 companies. A quick search by TOI on the ministry of company affairs (MCA) website showed that four other companies had their official address at the flat. Anil Deshmukh’s younger son Hrishikesh was a director along with Patel in four companies. Bhatewara was also a director in some of the companies.

When TOI visited the flat it was occupied by a tenant. The person living there requested not to be named. He claimed to have no idea about Snehal Patel or Aroma Productions. The family had moved in just a couple of months ago, said the tenant.

Responding to TOI’s queries, Anil Deshmukh’s elder son Salil said Bhatewara was his childhood friend, however, the family had nothing to do with the case involving Aroma Productions. If any illegal activity was being carried out, the law enforcing agencies should take due action. On Hrishikesh being a director with Patel in other companies, he said it had nothing to do with the case.

Sources said sleuths suspect a major case of duty evasion in the cigarette case. Even as the amount of evasion is being worked out, sources said, investigations have revealed that huge stock of foreign brands of cigarettes were smuggled out of the factory without invoices. Duty evasion helped the company sell the packets at a much lower rates allowing nearly 50% margin to dealers.

Cigarette factories are supposed to be under the physical control of the GST department. This means the final product is removed from the factory premises in the presence of a department official. In this case, production was carried out clandestinely in the night, when the officer was not present, and smuggled out, said sources. The factory had been raided last year in July as well, but was back in action.

IN A NUTSHELL

Tax sleuths raided cigarette factory at Pandhurna, MP run by Aroma Productions

It has its address at 702, Rachana Galaxy Shivaji Nagar

Nearly half a dozen cos have same address

One such co funded flat in Mumbai’s Adarsh Society

Mukund Mankar from Katol had purchased flat, former NCP minister Anil Deshmukh was questioned in the case

Funds for Mankar came from a web of cos with Deshmukh link.

One funding co, Rabia Properties, has address at 702, Rachana Galaxy

Deshmukh’s son Hrishikesh was a director in it along with Snehal Patel of Aroma Productions

Even today cos with Hrishikesh and Patel as directors have their address at Rachana Galaxy

Some of the cos are located at the same flat in Rachana Galaxy

Anil Deshmukh’s elder son Salil said family had no links to Aroma case