The state Lokayukta, after receiving complaints from activists, had asked the state dairy development commissioner to initiate criminal proceedings against the company.THE STATE government on Tuesday shot down a demand for a judicial probe into the functioning of a company led by the kin of Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Subhash Deshmukh, which has been under the dock for submitting bogus documents to avail state grants.
Minister of State for Dairy Development Arjun Khotkar shot down the demand and went on to claim that the efforts of the company to return the entire funds back to the government was laudatory.
The issue was raised by Congress legislator Sharad Ranpise through a starred question in the Legislative Council where he had called for a probe into Lokmangal Multistate Cooperative (LMCS) Limited.
“Following government directions, an FIR has also been registered for submitting the bogus documents with a police station in Solapur. The investigation is on,” said Khotkar while denying the calls for a judicial probe.
He added that the state has already revoked the Rs 24.81-crore grant that was sanctioned for the Solapur-based company. “We have also recovered the grants of Rs 5 crore given to the company with interest. Further action will be taken after the completion of the police probe,” he said.
Khotkar clarified that the police are recording the statements of those named in the FIR. “The consultant appointed by the company might have done some mischief but he is on the run,” he said.
Dhananjay Munde, Leader of Opposition, asked why the directors of the company have not been arrested.
“The FIR was registered in November last year but no arrest has been made till now. It shows that the police are not conducting the probe impartially. Hence, a judicial inquiry must be ordered,” he said.
The state Lokayukta, after receiving complaints from activists, had asked the state dairy development commissioner to initiate criminal proceedings against the company.
The proceedings of the Council were stalled for 10 minutes when Council Chairman Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar said that he would get information on whether another judicial inquiry can be ordered as the Lokayukta is also conducting its own probe.
