Agencies / MUMBAI:
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, who had announced that he would go to the Enforcement Directorate office today in what was seen as a dare after being named in a money laundering case, was told by the agency — don’t come, we’ll call you if needed.
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader had said he would go to the probe agency himself before getting busy with next month’s elections in the state.
In a letter just hours before the expected visit, the Enforcement Directorate told Mr Pawar that “there is no need for him” to come to its office. It also said if there was any requirement in future, “we will inform you”.
Security had been tightened for the visit amid NCP protests and large gatherings had been banned around the Enforcement Directorate’s office in South Mumbai. Mr Pawar is to visit the NCP office, which is a short walk from the probe agency’s office.
Mr Pawar has been named in a complaint on a Rs. 25,000-crore scam involving the sanction of loans illegally by the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank. The police FIR does not list him as an accused.
The case involves alleged violation of banking laws and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines while disbursing loans to the state’s sugar factories and spinning mills. Many of those who sanctioned the loans were allegedly linked to the owners of the mill owners. The bank is largely run by NCP leaders, though Mr Pawar is not among them.
A day after he was named in the FIR, Mr Pawar told the media he would be “pleased” to go to jail as he had never experienced it. Denying any role in the alleged scam, the 78-year-old had said: “I would have been surprised had such action not been taken against me after the kind of response I receive during my visits to various districts of the state.”