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  Metros   Mumbai  01 Sep 2019  Ex-minister gets 7-year jail in housing scam

Ex-minister gets 7-year jail in housing scam

THE ASIAN AGE.
Published : Sep 1, 2019, 2:17 am IST
Updated : Sep 1, 2019, 2:17 am IST

Court convicts all 48 accused in 23-yr-old scam; NCP leader to serve 5 years in jail.

All other accused, including 30 councillors, were also awarded imprisonment ranging from one to five years. Soon after the court pronounced its verdict, all 48 convicts present in the court, were taken into custody.
 All other accused, including 30 councillors, were also awarded imprisonment ranging from one to five years. Soon after the court pronounced its verdict, all 48 convicts present in the court, were taken into custody.

Mumbai: A court in Jalgaon on Saturday convicted all 48 accused, including former ministers Sureshdada Jain and Gulabrao Deokar, in the 23-year-old Jalgaon housing scam. Special judge Srushti Neelkanth awarded seven-year imprisonment and fine of Rs 100 crore to Jain, while Deokar was sentenced to five years of imprisonment.

All other accused, including 30 councillors, were also awarded imprisonment ranging from one to five years. Soon after the court pronounced its verdict, all 48 convicts present in the court, were taken into custody.

After conviction, judge Neelkanth asked the lawyers of the accused to argue on sentencing.

The lawyers sought leniency contending that the accused are senior citizens suffering from multiple diseases.

Public prosecutor Pravin Chavan vehemently oppo-sed the arguments saying, “All councillors had conspired the whole scam. Despite the unavailability of land, they had passed the proposal.”

The Jalgaon Municipal Corporation had proposed to build 11,000 homes for the poor in 1996. While `110 crore loan was taken from Housing and Urban Development Corporation Limited, less than half the target amount of homes were made available to the people for whom they were intended. The councillors were accused of favouring Khandesh builders, which was given the contract to build tenements under the Gharkul scheme and he was paid `26 crore advance.

Jain, a Sena leader and former member of Congress, NCP, was arrested in March 2012. He was state minister of home in the 1990s. He spent more than four years in jail before securing bail from the Supreme Court.

NCP leader Deokar, who was a councillor in the Jalgaon Municipal Council between 1995 and 2000, was arrested in May 2012. He spent three years in jail before securing bail.

Tags: gulabrao deokar, sureshdada jain