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Home > Mumbai > Mumbai News > Article > Now ACB to probe land grab case against Eknath Khadse

Now, ACB to probe land grab case against Eknath Khadse

Updated on: 09 March,2017 08:19 AM IST  | 
Vinay Dalvi |

HC has asked the agency to register an FIR against the former state revenue minister and then conduct the probe

Now, ACB to probe land grab case against Eknath Khadse

Eknath Khadse

Eknath Khadse
Eknath Khadse


It seems ex-state revenue minister Eknath Khadse is in for more trouble. The Bombay High Court on Wednesday directed the state Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to register an FIR against him in the Pune MIDC land grab case.


Referring to justices Ranjit More and Revati Mohite Dere, senior counsel Nitin Pradhan, who has been appointed by the state said, "We intend to transfer the case from Pune's Bundgarden police to the ACB."


However, the bench opined that first an FIR be registered and then the case investigated. "If you don't find anything, you can always give a clean chit in the chargesheet," said justice More. Thereafter, the court directed the Pune unit of ACB to appoint a DySP-level officer to investigate the case and an ADG-level officer to monitor the probe.

Independent probe
Justice More further asked the ACB to investigate the case independently and not rely on the probe conducted by the Pune police, who had given a clean chit to Khadse. They had claimed that the documents they had did not prove that Khadse had committed an offence, and had also mentioned about the documents available with the Zoting Commission appointed by the state government to look into the matter.

"In a week's time, the documents should be transferred to the ACB. The agency should conduct an independent investigation and not rely at all on the Zoting Commission report that will come out soon," added justice More.

An appeal likely
Sources are of the opinion that Khadse might challenge the high court order in the Supreme Court on the grounds that an FIR was registered against him without carrying out a primary inquiry.

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