Kolhapur: The Enforcement Directorate on Saturday raided the residence of NCP leader and former rural development minister Hasan Mushrif at Kagal area of Maharashtra's Kolhapur in alleged sugar mill scam, officials said. The search operation was launched yesterday night and it continued till today morning. This is the second raid on Mushrif's residence in the last one month.
A large posse of police force has been deployed in the area to prevent any untoward incident. The raid comes a month after the ED and Income Tax Department raided multiple locations including the Kolhapur home of former Maharashtra minister Mushrif. Kolhapur District Central Bank, chaired by Hasan Mushrif, was also earlier raided by ED.
Also read: ED raids premises of ex-minister, NCP leader Hasan Mushrif in sugar mill case
Mushrif's house has been raided in connection with the alleged Santaji Ghorpade sugar factory scam. The raids were launched on the complaint of BJP leader Kirit Somaiya. Somaiya alleged that funds worth Rs 158 crores were transferred to the factory from bogus companies in Kolkata. Somaiya also demanded action against Mushrif in the case.
Pertinently, the Bombay High Court protected Hasan Mushrif from coercive action in the case. A bench of justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Sharmila Deshmukh also ordered a judicial probe into BJP leader Kirit Somaiya procuring the copy of FIR and judicial proceedings in the case despite not being party to the case.
The directions by the Bombay high court came following a petition by Mushrif who questioned how Kirit Somaiya get a copy of the court orders as well as the FIR of the case in the first place when he had no direct connection with the case.
