Shiv Sena Leader Anil Parab Raided: Enforcement Directorate (ED) sleuths on Thursday morning raided multiple locations in Maharashtra as part of a money laundering probe against Shiv Sena leader Anil Parab and others. Parab, 57, is Transport Minister in the MVA government -- an alliance of Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress. He is a member of the Legislative Council.
The raids are being carried out by the agency in connection with alleged irregularities in a land deal in the coastal Dapoli area of Ratnagiri district and other charges. Locations in Dapoli, Mumbai and Pune are being searched after the agency filed a fresh case under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The ED action pertains to the allegations of purchase of a parcel of land at Dapoli by Parab in 2017 for a consideration of Rs 1 crore but it was registered in 2019. Some other charges are also being probed by the agency.
It is alleged that the land was subsequently sold to a Mumbai-based cable operator Sadanand Kadam in 2020 for a consideration of Rs 1.10 crore. In between, a resort was built on the same land from 2017 to 2020.
An Income Tax Department investigation earlier had alleged that the construction of the resort started in 2017 and over Rs 6 crore was spent in cash on construction of the resort.
Parab was questioned by the ED in the past in another money laundering case linked to former minister Anil Deshmukh.
Parab is the third MVA minister on the ED's radar. The probe agency had earlier arrested Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik and former state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh in different money laundering cases.
Shiv Sena reacts
The Shiv Sena dubbed ED raids against Parab as 'revenge politics' and that this will only make party's resolve stronger to fight the BJP. Accusing the BJP of misusing the central agencies, Shiv Sena's chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut said that the MVA government stands with Parab.
"Such actions are being carried out to exact political revenge. You (BJP) have central agencies with you. If anyone thinks their political opponents will be destroyed by this, if anyone thinks that such acts will build pressure on the Shiv Sena or the Maha Vikas Aghadi, then it is wrong. Every action will only make our resolve stronger," the Rajya Sabha MP said.
Raut also claimed that BJP leaders have more serious charges against them than what the Sena and other MVA leaders are being probed for.
'Parab should prepare to go behind bars'
BJP leader Kirit Somaiya said Parab should prepare to go behind bars. "After Anil Deshmukh and Nawab Malik, third state cabinet minister Anil Parab needs to pack his bags to go to jail...I believe the probe agencies will cover all the allegations against Parab and not just one case," Somaiya said.
The former BJP MP said he had been consistently raising various issues and demanding a probe against Parab for some years.
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