Maharashtra Minister Prajakt Tanpure in soup as ED attaches assets worth Rs 13 crore

After the raids, the minister was reportedly taken to the ED office at 3 pm and interrogated until 10 pm, after which the ED let him off. "I have given satisfactory answers to all the queries that the ED has so far put forth," he said.

Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate on Monday raided the properties of Minister of State Prajakt Tanpure in Nagpur and Ahmednagar, including the 90 acres land belonging to Ram Ganesh Gadkari Sugar Factory in Nagpur and additional 4 acres in Ahmednagar. The officials have reported a total seizure of assets worth Rs 13.41 crore after the raids were executed today. Tanpure was reportedly interrogated for around nine hours, wherein he denied all allegations.

After the raids, the minister was reportedly taken to the ED office at 3 pm and interrogated until 10 pm, after which the ED let him off. "I have given satisfactory answers to all the queries that the ED has so far put forth. I shall be fully cooperative in whatever inquiry they plan on launching further," Tanpure said. Meanwhile, the ED took to its official Twitter handle to inform about the raid.

• ED attaches assets worth Rs. 13.41 Crore in illegal auction of Ram Ganesh Gadkari SSK by MSCB causing loss to the bank. Attach assets include 90 acre land of the said SSK and 4.6 acre non agricultural land in Ahmednagar.

  — ED (@dir_ed) February 28, 2022 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="

  ED attaches assets worth Rs. 13.41 Crore in illegal auction of Ram Ganesh Gadkari SSK by MSCB causing loss to the bank. Attach assets include 90 acre land of the said SSK and 4.6 acre non agricultural land in Ahmednagar.

  — ED (@dir_ed) February 28, 2022

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  ED attaches assets worth Rs. 13.41 Crore in illegal auction of Ram Ganesh Gadkari SSK by MSCB causing loss to the bank. Attach assets include 90 acre land of the said SSK and 4.6 acre non agricultural land in Ahmednagar.

  — ED (@dir_ed) February 28, 2022

What are the allegations against Prajakt Tanpure?

The Ram Ganesh Gadkar co-operative sugar factory in Ahmednagar district had come under ED's radar for a bank scam case of around Rs 25,000 crore at the Maharashtra State Co-operative Bank. The bank had reportedly confiscated the sugar mill factory on the allegations of non-payment of loans. The factory was auctioned off in 2012. When the auction was announced, Prajakt Tanpure's father, former MP Prasad Tanpure, was on the bank's board of directors. The sale price of the factory was announced at Rs 26 crore initially, but it was bought by Tanpure for only Rs 13 crore. This transaction had fallen under the suspicions of the ED, after which Tanpure was finally questioned followed by the raids at his properties.

The ED had also launched an inquiry against Tanpure earlier in December last year.

ED's raid spree that led to Tanpure's arrest

The ED had been on a 9-day long raid spree in several cities including Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur and Ahmednagar. The raids were reportedly conducted at the properties of several people related to Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar as well as Ram Ganesh Gadkari. The ED had reportedly gotten its hands on several important documents with details and proofs about the sugar factory scam.