FPJ Exclusive Part-II: ₹400-Crore Heist Case In Limbo After Accused Backtracks, Evidence Contradicts

Mumbai: Sources said during custodial interrogation by the same SIT officers who had earlier recorded his statement, Kadam has now claimed that no Rs400-crore heist occurred and that the matter involved cheating and forgery amounting to Rs35 crore. The alleged transaction has been linked to absconding accused Thane-based builder Kishor Sawala and Virat Gandhi, a hawala operator based in Ahmedabad. However, audio and video evidence, shared by the complaint with the SIT via a pendrive and recovered from Jayesh Kadam, clearly shows that Kadam’s statement does not match the evidence.

SIT Chief Aditya Mirkhelkar's Statement

Responding to the allegations, SIT chief and Additional Superintendent of Police (Nashik Rural) Aditya Mirkhelkar told The Free Press Journal that the investigation is currently based solely on the statements of the four accused in custody. “They claim they acted on behalf of a Thane-based builder but have not seen any cash. Whatever they are stating is based only on what they were told,” he said, adding that discrepancies, concealment and possibly misleading statements were part of the ongoing probe.

Mirkhelkar added that the alleged heist could only be conclusively verified after the arrest and examination of the two absconding accused, Sawala and Gandhi, whose versions would determine whether the Rs 400-crore cash movement actually occurred. He did not respond specifically to queries regarding Kadam’s change in statement. Patil further revealed that the disputed statements of accused Jayesh Kadam were linked to a December 19 meeting last year, when LCB PI Ravindra Magar and Dattaji Shinde, both now part of the SIT, allegedly called Patil and Kadam to the LCB office.

This was reportedly the first meeting after Kadam’s original statement had been recorded. According to Patil, during the meeting, Kadam told Magar in his presence that the case involved a sum much larger than Rs 400 crore in demonetised currency, allegedly linked to a political party and a Gujarat-based ashram. Kadam claimed that builder Kishor Sawala executed the transaction on behalf of a politician, while hawala operator Virat Gandhi handled consignments for the ashram.

Gandhi reportedly demanded a Rs 150-crore security deposit for the ashram, to be returned after the transaction. Two consignments, worth Rs 150 crore and Rs 250 crore, were allegedly transported from an undisclosed Karnataka location to the Ahmedabad-based ashram but were stolen at Chorla Ghat, at the tri-junction of Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Goa.

Kadam is said to have shared photographs of the consignments with Magar and identified Gandhi as a key participant. According to Patil, two officers employed various tactics to pressure him into not filing the FIR. Even after the matter came under SIT jurisdiction, he alleged that the same officers continued threatening him and attempting to mislead the investigation.

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