Mumbai: A controversy over a plot taken sometime back in 2002 has returned to haunt the “politically active” Bhujbal family. This time around, it is the son and nephew of Chhagan Bhujbal, Pramod and Sameer, who may face the heat. This comes after a criminal public interest litigation (CRPIL) was filed in the Bombay HC, earlier this month.
The plea seeks a direction to the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) to complete its investigations and file chargesheet in the criminal case, it filed against the Bhujbals in 2017. The plea by activist Praveen Wategaonkar was mentioned before a bench of Justices Ranjit More and Bharati Dangre on Monday. The bench has agreed to grant a hearing, but after the ensuing summer vacation.
According to the plea, the Bhujbal brothers had floated a “bogus” society and made an application to the MHADA seeking to construct a residential building on a 802 sqft plot at Oshiwara, Mumbai. It is claimed after taking over the plot, seven of the 11 members alleged they never consented to be a part of the said society and their signatures were forged.
The plea further claimed that soon after the disclosure by the members of the society, the Bhujbals, made another application before the MHADA seeking permission to convert part of the plot into commercial and the same was allowed by the then Chief Shyamsunder Shinde.
Wategaonkar has claimed Shinde had accepted over Rs1 lakh to allow conversion of the plot and the same was illegal. The petition goes on to highlight the fact the ACB had registered a case against the Bhujbal brothers, following an open inquiry conducted in 2014 in pursuant to the orders of another HC bench.
Subsequently, the Maharashtra govt’s Housing dept submitted the ACB report to its Legal dept, seeking its opinion on whether the anti-graft agency be allowed to file its charge sheet in the case. However, according to the RTI response, Wategaonkar received from the government, there has been no progress and the said report is still pending with the legal department.
Citing this delay, Wategaonkar has filed the present petition accusing the MHADA and the government of deliberately withholding the charge sheet. He has accordingly sought directions to the said departments to file the charge sheet at the earliest so that the Bhujbals can be punished, if proved guilty.