Mumbai (21.10.2024): When Assembly elections are underway, Bhagyashri Navatake (IPS: 2015: MH) has accused Maharashtra Cabinet minister and BJP leader Girish Mahajan of "coercion and threats" in an alleged Rs 1,200 crore scam related to the Jalgaon-based Bhaichand Hirachand Raisoni Credit Society from 2020 to 2022. The minister refuted any such allegation.
Mahajan said that neither he nor his wife had any financial involvement in the scam. "Police officers should focus on making decisions based on investigations, not political pressure. We have not taken a single rupee in loans or benefits," the minister said. Navatake, who was investigating the case while serving as Pune DCP (economic offence wing) in 2020-21, claimed that her efforts to expose corruption were obstructed. She asserted that during the investigation, nearly Rs 100 crore of depositors' money was recovered, but political interference hindered further progress.
In her petition to the Bombay High Court, Navatake alleged that she was targeted and scapegoated by influential people, including Mahajan and businessman Sunil Zawar, who she claimed benefited from the fraudulent activities surrounding the credit society's liquidation.
Meanwhile, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) booked Navtake on charges of forgery and criminal conspiracy, the probe agency announced on Thursday. The case pertains to instances of forgery and flawed documentation in an alleged Rs 1,200 crore scam investigation.
