The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police has filed a closure report in a case registered against Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde Group) member of Parliament (MP) Ravindra Waikar. The EOW on Thursday filed a C Summary report in a metropolitan magistrate court, indicating that the allegations were neither true nor false.
The criminal case had cropped up after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the original complainant in the case, in February told the Supreme Court that it wanted to reconsider its decision to revoke permission granted to redevelop a prime property in western suburbs.
The Supreme Court was hearing an appeal filed by Waikar against the Bombay high court’s decision, which rejected his plea challenging BMC’s decision to cancel the hotel construction permission.
Based on BMC’s letter there was no misuse of land, we have closed the case as it was more of an administrative complaint and it is not clear whether the parties have received any benefits, said the EOW.
It was alleged that the BMC had given the land to a club named Supremo Club, at Jogeshwari to maintain a facility for sporting and entertainment activities, but permission was later obtained to facilitate the construction of a luxury hotel at the reserved open space plot, which amounted to a violation of the agreement with the civic body on the utilisation of the land.
It was alleged that for a limited development of the land parcel, a tripartite agreement was concluded in February 2004 among the plot owner, Waikar and four others, as well as the BMC.
Under this agreement, 67% of the plot was to be kept for public utility, and the rest could be used for development by the owners/occupiers according to the 1991 Development Control Regulations (DCR), people aware of the developments said.
It was alleged that the accused persons later obtained civic permission in 2021 to construct a hotel.
The plot, which was reserved for entertainment and sports activities, was given to the accused by the BMC for free public utilisation, but they allegedly used it for commercial activities, according to the first information report (FIR) of the EOW.
Last June, the BMC cancelled its permission granted for the construction of the hotel.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had also questioned Waikar as part of its money laundering investigation into alleged irregularities related to obtaining permission for the construction of a luxury hotel on a plot in Jogeshwari in violation of an agreement with the BMC.
ED’s investigation against Waikar, who represents the Jogeshwari East constituency in the Maharashtra assembly, was based on a case registered by the EOW in September 2023.
Those booked in the case were Waikar, his wife Manisha Waikar, and other business partners.
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Aisha Patel is a dedicated Indian correspondent with a deep understanding of the nation’s diverse affairs. With a background in Indian culture, politics, and current events, she provides in-depth analysis and timely reporting on domestic issues within India.
