Fate of ex-minister to be decided on June 27

Fate of ex-minister to be decided on June 27

The fates of former state minister Suresh Jain, Gulabrao Deokar and other big politicians in Jalgaon Gharkul housing scam will be decided on June 27. At the hearing on Friday, the matter was adjourned to the next date as Dhule’s special court judge Srushti Neelkanth was unwell.

FPJ BureauUpdated: Saturday, June 08, 2019, 11:59 AM IST
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Dhule: The fates of former state minister Suresh Jain, Gulabrao Deokar and other big politicians in Jalgaon Gharkul housing scam will be decided on June 27. At the hearing on Friday, the matter was adjourned to the next date as Dhule’s special court judge Srushti Neelkanth was unwell.

Meanwhile, the matter was heard by S Ugale, who conducted the day’s proceedings and posted the hearing on June 27. Jain, Deokar and all the accused were present. The judgment was previously expected on May 21, but since two other accused, Ajay Jadhav and Arun Misal, were absent, they were fined Rs4,000.

The advocate of all the accused were confident they would walk free after being found not guilty. However, the prosecutor in the case of Gharkul housing scam, the accused are said to have breached all rules and there is evidence pointing towards it. The prosecution has questioned 50 witnesses and provided all the evidence pointing at the involvement of the accused.

The Jalgaon Municipal Corporation had initiated the Gharkul scheme to provide subsidised houses to the poor. Huge loans were taken from the HUDCO when the scam was unearthed in 2001.

Jain, who was the minister for housing during the Shiv Sena-BJP rule in the 1990s, had been arrested for allegedly favouring a builder and indulging in irregularities to the tune of Rs29 crore, police had said.

Jain had favoured Khandesh Builders, which was given the contract for constructing tenements under the Gharkul scheme. The former municipal commissioner of Jalgaon, Pravin Gedam, had registered a complaint in this regard in 2006. Police officer Ishu Sindhu was the in-charge.

Of the 5,000 houses that were to be developed on the outskirts of Jalgaon, only 1,500 have been completed so far, the sources said. Jain had filed a defamation case against social activist Anna Hazare, when the latter levelled allegations of corruption against him.

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