The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday temporarily attached immovable properties worth Rs 6.45 crore of a company owned and controlled by Sridhar Madhav Patankar, brother-in-law of Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. The agency has alleged that Patankar’s construction firm Shri Saibaba Grihinirmiti Pvt. Ltd., a person named Nandkishore Chaturvedi had deposited an unaccounted amount of more than one crore rupees.
The ED said in a statement on Tuesday that 11 flats of Nilambri Apartments in Thane have been sealed. The cost of these flats is stated to be 6.45 crores. This project is associated with Shree Saibaba Grihanirmiti Private Limited which is owned and controlled by Shridhar Madhav Patankar. Patankar is the real brother of Thackeray’s wife Rashmi.
The ED’s action against Patankar comes in connection with a money laundering case registered by the agency against Pushpak Bullion, a company of the Pushpak Group, on March 6, 2017. The central agency has earlier provisionally attached immovable and movable assets worth Rs 21.46 crore of Pushpak Bullion belonging to Mahesh Patel, Chandrakant Patel, their family members and companies controlled by them.
“Subsequent investigation (in 2017 year case) revealed that Mahesh Patel, in connivance with Nandkishore Chaturvedi, a housing admission provider, misappropriated funds from Pushpak Realty, a company of the Pushpak Group. Pushpak Realty made the sale,” the statement said. Under the guise, transferred an amount of Rs 20.02 crore to entities (shell companies) controlled by Chaturvedi, arranging funds through various connected/unrelated entities.”
The release further said that Chaturvedi, who runs several shell companies, further transferred money through his shell company Humsafar Dealers Pvt Ltd in the guise of giving unsecured loans of over Rs 30 crore to Shree Saibaba Grihiniarmi Pvt Ltd. . “Thus, the money stolen by Mahesh Patel with the connivance of Chaturvedi was channeled into real estate projects by Shree Saibaba Grihinirmiti Pvt Ltd. ,
Shiv Sena MP and party’s chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut said, “Shridhar Madhav Patankar is not just a relative of Rashmi and Uddhav Thackeray. He is also a member of our family. I came to know that ED has taken some action. Central investigative agencies are taking action in states where they are not in power.”
He said, “If they think that putting pressure on the key pillars of the Maha Vikas Aghadi will result in the fall of the government or imposition of President’s rule, then they need to wake up. We will fight against their political vendetta and expose them before the public. We don’t think we can expect justice from courts in this environment, but Janta ki Adalat is bigger. The people of the state know the Thackeray family. Someday they will have to face the consequences for an action taken with vengeance.”