Sharad Pawar to face ED investigation on Sept 27

A case has been registered against 70 political leaders from different parties, including NCP President Sharad Pawar in the alleged loan frauds of the State Bank. Pawar has accepted the Enforcement Directorate's inquiry and said he will report before the agency on September 27.

Mumbai:Nationalist Congress party President, Sharad Pawar said that he will report to Enforcement Directorate on 27 September as part of agencies investigation in a money laundering case.

Addressing media here, Pawar also questioned the timing of the ED move, which comes days before the October 21 Maharashtra Assembly elections.

Pawar said he will visit the ED office at 2 pm on September 27 to submit "whatever information" sought in connection with the Maharashtra State Co-operative Bank scam.

"I will be mostly out of Mumbai for Assembly poll campaigning. The agency officials shouldn't misunderstand that I am unavailable. I will go to them and give them whatever information they want," Pawar said.

Pawar said he believes in the Constitution of India.

"Maharashtra follows the ideology of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. We don't bow down before the Delhi Takht (throne)," Pawar said.

The ED filed the money laundering case against Pawar, his nephew Ajit Pawar and 70 others in the bank scam on the directions of the Bombay High Court.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the ED registered the case based on the High Court directive.

"It would be wrong to attribute a political motive for the ED action and call it a political vendetta (by the BJP government)," Fadnavis told reporters.

The ED has filed a money laundering case against Sharad Pawar, his nephew Ajit Pawar and others in connection with the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank (MSCB) scam case.

Both Sharad and Ajit Pawar has been registered in the Rs 25,000 Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank scam.

The case is based on a Mumbai Police FIR which had named former chairmen of the bank, ex-deputy chief minister of Maharashtra Ajit Pawar and 70 former functionaries of the
cooperative bank.

It is alleged that bank officials provided loans to cooperative sugar factories owned by politicians and political families.

The registration of the case comes ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly polls scheduled to be held on October 21.

Read: Money laundering case against Pawar: NCP protests at ED office