Beed: In a dramatic development that has sent shockwaves through the district administration, a crucial inquiry report detailing a massive Rs241.62 crore land acquisition scam has reportedly gone missing from the Beed District Collector’s office. The disappearance of the document, which serves as primary evidence for multiple FIRs, has triggered allegations of a deliberate attempt to shield senior officials.
Ajay Sarvade, district unit president of the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), alleged that the local administration was intentionally suppressing the report. He claimed the document was being “hidden” to protect the prime accused.
“The inquiry report is an official government record. Its disappearance is a grave matter. We suspect this is a tactical move to destroy evidence and protect the then district collector, Avinash Pathak, whose signatures on the dubious orders need to be verified,” Sarvade said.
The alleged scam dates back to 2025. According to the preliminary investigation, 154 forged arbitration orders were issued within a span of one and a half months between Mar 1 and Apr 17, 2025.
These fraudulent orders allegedly used the designation and forged signatures of the then Pathak to sanction highly inflated land compensation. Records indicate that around Rs73 crore has already been disbursed under National Highway No. 211, with the remaining amount forming part of the overall Rs241 crore suspected embezzlement.
The disappearance of the report has highlighted serious accountability gaps within the collectorate. When officials were questioned about the file’s location, different departments offered contradictory accounts. The Record Room stated that the file was never submitted to it, while internal sources suggested the report was with the Additional Collector. Other officials maintained it had been submitted directly to the district collector.
The missing report is the same document that led to the registration of criminal cases against several individuals, including Assistant Revenue Officers Sanjay Hange, Pandurang Patil, Avinash Chavan, Shaikh Azhar and retired employee Trimbak Pingle.
Legal experts warned that the absence of the original inquiry report could significantly weaken the prosecution’s case against the accused.
