Why Did Deepak Mankar Resign As NCP Pune City Chief Ahead Of Civic Polls?

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Pune city chief Deepak Mankar has resigned from his post. This comes after police booked him and two others for allegedly forging documents to conceal fraudulent financial transactions. He has tendered his resignation to the party chief and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.

Mankar refutes allegations:

Mankar has refuted the allegations against him, claiming that some anti-social elements are defaming him out of jealousy over his rise in politics.

"An allegation has been levelled against me that I cheated the government in the land deal 3 to 4 years ago, but it has not been proven yet. Without scrutinising the veracity, my political image is being defamed just when the municipal corporation polls are round the corner," said Mankar.

He said NCP is unnecessarily being defamed, and senior leaders in the party are also facing an awkward situation.

"Since becoming the city unit president, I have been working honestly under the leadership of Ajit Dada and state party chief Sunil Tatkare. I am tendering my resignation, and it should be accepted," Mankar stated.

What is the case?

Along with Mankar, the two others named in the First Information Report (FIR) are Raunak Jain and Shantanu Kukde.

Kukde, a former functionary of the NCP, is already in judicial custody on the charge of raping a woman and a girl under the pretext of offering financial help through his NGO.

Police discovered multiple financial transactions involving the bank accounts of Kukde, Jain, and others, which appeared dubious, according to the police.

A sum of Rs 1.18 crore was transferred from the Red House Foundation's account to Mankar's account between September and October 2024, police said.

Mankar also produced a sale deed document on a stamp paper to support his claim of the land transaction with Jain. However, the scrutiny found that the document was forged, police said.

Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see who is appointed the NCP Pune city chief, as the civic polls are only a few months away.