Eknath Khadse outside the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office in Mumbai. (Express Photo by Ganesh Shirsekar/File)Nearly 10 months after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) attached assets worth Rs 5.73 crore of NCP leader Eknath Khadse, his wife Mandakini Khadse and son-in-law Girish Chaudhri, in connection with a money laundering case, the central agency issued an eviction notice instructing him to vacate all the properties that were attached last year. The agency has been investigating Khadse and Chaudhri for buying land in Pune’s Bhosari village for Rs 3.75 crore when its actual value was over Rs 31 crore. The ED has alleged that the land was purchased in Chaudhri’s name and money for the deal was allegedly routed through five shell companies.
In October 2020, the ED had filed an Enforcement Case Information Report against Khadse, his wife, Chaudhri and Abbas Ukani – the the original owner of the land – for allegedly grabbing the land belonging to the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) at Bhosari. Last August, the ED had frozen a bank account with a deposit of Rs 86 lakh and attached properties, including a bungalow in Lonavala and three land parcels in Jalgaon, belonging to Khadse’s family.
Subsequently, the agency sought approval from the adjudicating authority, following which, early this week, the ED served the accused a notice to vacate the attached properties. “There are no proceeds of the crime, the land doesn’t belong to the MIDC, hence the permission of the MIDC is not required for the execution of the agreement. There is no loss to the government exchequer due to the registration of the agreement. Thus, the confirmation order has been passed arbitrarily. We will challenge it before the appropriate court,” said Khadse’s advocate Mohan Tekavde.
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