The Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat at the cabinet meeting held on Thursday took strong objection against the Nashik Police Commissioner Deepak Pandey’s purported allegations against revenue officers and special executive magistrates terming them RDX and detonators. Pawar, who is known for his grip over the administration, expressed serious concern over the use of words by a senior IPS officer against the revenue officers and the special executive magistrates. Pawar also indicated that it may vitiate the functioning of the administration and set a new trend which will not be good for a progressive state like Maharashtra.
Pandey in his recent letter to the state DGP had slammed the functioning of the revenue officers and the special executive magistrates while holding them responsible for their inaction leading to the growth of land mafias. Pandey had alleged that the land mafias have been looting the people due to the blessings of the revenue officers.
Pandey advocated the need to curb the magisterial powers of revenue officers under the Criminal Procedure Code. In the wake of the leak of his letter, Thorat rapped Pandey for the derogatory language used in the letter and took up the matter with the Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. Thereafter, Pandey tendered an apology.
However, Pandey’s letter led to uproar in the revenue department officers and employees who demanded action against the former.
