Maharashtra minister Parab in ED net, Sena says vendetta

The properties belong to Parab and people close to him, the sources said. They also said that ED officials recorded the Minister’s statement at his official residence on Marine Drive in Mumbai.

On March 8, the Income-Tax Department searched 26 premises in Mumbai, Pune, Ratnagiri and Sangli, which were linked to Bajrang Kharmate, a deputy regional transport officer (RTO) known to be close to Parab, and Sadanand Kadam, a cable operator from Mumbai. During the searches, investigators are learnt to have discovered irregularities relating to the purchase of a parcel of land by Parab in Dapoli in 2017.

The tax authorities had said at the time that Parab had registered the land only in 2019, while the resort was developed on it between 2017 and 2020. According to the authorities, Rs 6 crore were spent on developing the resort, which was sold to Kadam in 2020 for just Rs 1.1 crore. The cost of building the resort “had not been accounted for” by either Kadam or Parab, they said.

“It transpires that the relevant facts about the construction of the resort were not intimated to the registration authorities and accordingly, the stamp duty was paid only for the registration of the land on both the occasions i.e., in 2019 and in 2020,” the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) had said in a statement earlier.

BJP leader Kirit Somaiya has in the past made several complaints to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, alleging that the Dapoli resort violates Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules. On Thursday, Somaiya said the Ministry had submitted a report to the court on March 10, which reads, “The accused (Parab and others) have violated CRZ norms… Firstly they did construction and development activity in classified NDZ which is a prohibited and illegal act in itself.”

Soon after the searches on Thursday began, Somaiya tweeted a video saying, “(NCP leaders) Anil Deshmukh, Nawab Malik are in Jail & now Anil Parab must get ready”.

Late on Thursday, Parab told reporters: “The resort does not belong to me. It is owned by Kadam about which he has informed the court. The resort has not even started functioning, and yet they have registered a case under the Environment (Protection) Act against me… They have considered that as predicate offence and conducted raids against me.”

He said he had responded to all questions put to him by investigators.

Late on Thursday evening, Parab and Shiv Sena MP Vinayak Raut met Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. Parab is believed to have briefed Thackeray on the ED’s investigation.

The ED had questioned Parab last year in a case relating to former Home Minister Deshmukh after dismissed police officer Sachin Waze had  alleged that they collected money from police officials for favourable postings.

The Sena said the raids on Parab were “political vengeance” that would make the party’s resolve to fight the BJP stronger.

“Anil Parab is our colleague, Cabinet Minister, and hardcore Shiv Sainik. Such actions are driven by political vengeance. Some BJP leaders are facing more serious crimes than the kind of allegations that are being leveled against Parab and our other colleagues. But no one touches them. The party and (Maha Vikas Aghadi) government firmly stand behind Parab,” Sena leader Sanjay Raut told reporters.

Raut said these actions would not have any bearing on the government. “There will be no pressure on us… All elections will proceed smoothly… Politics in Maharashtra has never stooped so low in 55 years,” he said.

Raut said the actions of central agencies in Maharashtra and West Bengal were “revenge”, intended “to harass the (state) governments”, and to discredit the Sena. “But it will not affect our morale. With each such action, our resolve to fight against the BJP will increase,” he said.

The BJP demanded Parab’s resignation and arrest. “We demand immediate arrest of Anil Parab. He has committed multiple crimes including money laundering, forgery, cheating and violation of CRZ norms,” Somaiya said.

“Parab had purchased land from one Vibha Sathe in Dapoli for a resort. He invested Rs 25 crore in cash which was black money. And he later invested Rs 60 crore through cheque,” Somaiya alleged.