Pune, Nov 8 (IANS) Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President Ajit Pawar said on Saturday that if he knew about the land transaction in Pune’s upscale Mundhwa-Koregaon Park involving his son Parth Pawar, he would not have allowed it to happen.

He also added that the sale deed do not take place of such land (Mahar Watan) but it will now have to see how the transaction took place.

He added that the committee led by the state Revenue Department Additional Chief Secretary Vikas Kharge will thoroughly investigate this matter.

He was speaking to reporters a day after he announced that the cancellation of a sale deed for the transaction of 40 acre land worth Rs 300 crore in Pune’s Mundhwa-Koregaon Park area involving his son Parth Pawar-linked company Amedea Enterprises LLP led to a major controversy across the state politics.

It also came to light that the stamp duty of Rs 21 crore was also waived for the sale deed.

Deputy Chief Minister Pawar on Saturday said, “The state government should not be harmed by such transactions. Some people dared to show their courage, and the truth will come out when an inquiry is conducted into how they did it. How did a transaction that cannot be registered take place? In this case, a sale deed cannot be made. Still, it is not known how this transaction took place. We will have to see if there was any pressure from anyone in this case.”

In another land transaction from Pune’s Bopodi area involving his son Parth Pawar, the Deputy CM said, “We had no connection with anyone in Bopodi, but our family’s name was mentioned in it. I was not aware of this transaction, had I known it I would not have allowed it also to happen.”

He added that the six-member committee led by the state’s Revenue Department Additional Chief Secretary will probe thoroughly and the truth will emerge from it.

Replying to a query as to why an FIR was not registered against his son Parth Pawar in this case, Deputy CM Pawar said, “I saw Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule’s statement in which he mentioned that an FIR has been registered against the people who were present in the registration office when this transaction took place. The truth will come out within a month after the investigation of this matter.”

Incidentally, the FIR does not directly name Parth Pawar but targets three individuals accused of collusion.

The names mentioned in the FIR included Digvijay Patil, authorised signatory in Amadea Enterprises LLP; cousin of Parth Pawar, Shital Tejwani, Holder of power of attorney for original landowners’ descendants; facilitated the sale and Ravindra Taru, Sub-registrar who registered the deal.

The Revenue Department has already suspended Taru and the Tehsildar Suryakant Yewale for their roles in the transaction.

Earlier, Deputy CM Ajit Pawar’s uncle and NCP-SP Chief Sharad Pawar reacting to the Pune land deal row involving Deputy CM Ajit Pawar’s son Parth Pawar-linked Amedea Enterprises LLP, said that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has claimed it is a serious issue and therefore the inquiry be conducted in this case and the real picture should be presented before the society.

Pawar said, “I cannot say anything about this. But Chief Minister has claimed it a serious issue and therefore the inquiry be conducted in this and the real picture should be presented before the society.”

“The state government has formed an inquiry committee on this. Therefore, we should see what issues come to light from the report of this committee,” he added.

–IANS

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