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In a significant development, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police has submitted a closure report in the Rs 25,000 crore Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank (MSCB) scam case, stating that there is no evidence of criminal wrongdoing involving Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, his wife Sunetra Pawar, and nephew Rohit Pawar, among others.
The closure report comes as a relief for the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, with Sunetra Pawar being the party’s candidate from the prestigious Baramati seat.
Reacting sharply to the EOW’s findings, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anand Dubey targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had previously labeled the Pawars as a “corrupt family.”
“PM Modi had raised the allegation and said that it is a corrupt family. But, today she (Sunetra Pawar) has been given a clean chit,” Dubey told ANI.
The MSCB scam case revolves around allegations of irregularities in loans granted to sugar factories by the cooperative bank. It was alleged that loans were sanctioned without following due process, and when these loans turned into non-performing assets, they were sold to persons connected to the bank’s directors at prices below market value.
However, the EOW’s 35-page closure report, filed in January and disclosed recently, found no criminal offenses or irregularities in the loan approvals or factory sales, as reported by the Indian Express.
The report specifically examined three major transactions and concluded that no financial losses were incurred by the bank. In fact, the bank has recovered Rs 1,343.41 crore from the loans issued, according to the closure report.
Regarding the sale of Jarandeshwar Sufar Sahakari Karkhana, one of the transactions under scrutiny, the EOW refuted allegations of underpricing, stating that the “sale price exceeded the reserve price.”
The closure report has drawn criticism from the opposition, with Dubey accusing the authorities of giving a clean chit to all leaders who joined the BJP after being accused in various cases.
“All the leaders who were accused and joined the BJP have been given a clean chit. EOW stated in its closure report that it did not see any criminal act in this case,” Dubey said.
The MSCB scam case had been a significant political issue, with the BJP and other opposition parties accusing the Pawars and NCP of corruption. The EOW’s findings have now provided a reprieve for the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition in Maharashtra.
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