On Thursday, the Income-Tax (I-T) Department purportedly released three assets that belonged to Ajit Pawar, a former deputy chief minister of Maharashtra, and his family.
In October of last year, the agency attached numerous properties under the Prohibition of Benami Properties Prevention Act, totaling more than Rs 1,000 crore (PBPP). Additionally, searches were done at the homes and workplaces of Pawar’s sisters, close friends, and family members in Mumbai and Maharashtra. None of these assets were directly held by Pawar, as India Today has learned.
The Supreme Court (SC) issued an order in August of this year prohibiting the attachment of assets acquired prior to 2016 and the filing of lawsuits under the Prohibition of Benami Properties Act. The adjudicating authority released three properties attached by the IT department earlier this week, including Pawar and family’s Jarandeshwar Sugar Mill, based on the decision issued by the SC.
In the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank (MSCB) case, the Enforcement Directorate continues to have the Jarandeshwar Sugar Mill under attachment.
According to sources, the remaining properties that the I-T department has attached were bought before December 2016, so it is anticipated that they would be released soon.
Following a probe on two Mumbai real estate company groups and certain organisations reportedly connected to Pawar’s relatives, the IT department last year discovered undeclared income of Rs 184 crore.
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