[ad_1]
MUMBAI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) questioned apolitical aide of Yuva Sena president Aaditya Thackeray, Suraj Chavan, for around eight hours Monday in a money laundering case connected to the Mumbai municipal corporation’s spending to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic.
Chavan arrived with his wife at the ED’s zonal office at Ballard Estate in South Mumbai around noon. Police bandobast was deployed to control a crowd gathered in the area in his support.
The ED questioned Suraj about four flats in Mumbai that the agency suspects are owned by him. It also inquired about financial deals of three firms associated with his brother. Sources said Chavan admitted thattwo of the flats belonged to him but was not aware about the others. Chavan said he had purchased the two flats by raising funds from different sources, including loans from friends. ED officials said they found his explanation unconvincing and sought more documents.
An ED source said, “Chavan influenced BMC officialsto award a contract to his chosen contractor. The contracts were awarded to ineligible bidders at higher rates. We are investigating if Chavan benefited from these deals and the connected money trail. We are investigating his flats that were purchased through unexplained incomes and asked him to produce relevant documents.”
Chavan is party secretary of Shiv Sena UBT and core committee member of Yuva Sena. Last week, the ED had searched his house in Chembur, after which Aaditya Thackeray visited him to show solidarity. Last week, Shiv Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray had said his party under Aaditya would take a morcha to the BMC headquarters on July 1 against the “loot and misgovernance in BMC. ”
Chavan arrived with his wife at the ED’s zonal office at Ballard Estate in South Mumbai around noon. Police bandobast was deployed to control a crowd gathered in the area in his support.
The ED questioned Suraj about four flats in Mumbai that the agency suspects are owned by him. It also inquired about financial deals of three firms associated with his brother. Sources said Chavan admitted thattwo of the flats belonged to him but was not aware about the others. Chavan said he had purchased the two flats by raising funds from different sources, including loans from friends. ED officials said they found his explanation unconvincing and sought more documents.
An ED source said, “Chavan influenced BMC officialsto award a contract to his chosen contractor. The contracts were awarded to ineligible bidders at higher rates. We are investigating if Chavan benefited from these deals and the connected money trail. We are investigating his flats that were purchased through unexplained incomes and asked him to produce relevant documents.”
Chavan is party secretary of Shiv Sena UBT and core committee member of Yuva Sena. Last week, the ED had searched his house in Chembur, after which Aaditya Thackeray visited him to show solidarity. Last week, Shiv Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray had said his party under Aaditya would take a morcha to the BMC headquarters on July 1 against the “loot and misgovernance in BMC. ”
#quizzes #Aadityas #aide #hours #deals #flats #India #News
