The Navi Mumbai police on Thursday filed another chargesheet against senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal in connection with a case registered in Navi Mumbai in housing project ‘Hex World’ scam. The project was promoted by a realty firm owned by the Bhujbal family. In the related development, the ACB also told the high court that one more chargesheet would be filed against him within a month in a case of alleged kickbacks received in the award of contract of state central library in Kalina campus of Mumbai University. It will be the third chargesheet against the NCP leader. The ACB had on Wednesday filed a 24,500-page chargesheet against Bhujbal, his son MLA Pankaj, nephew ex-MP Sameer and 14 others for alleged irregularities in awarding the project for three constructions, including New Delhi’s New Maharashtra Sadan, a state guest house.
The chargesheet filed on Thursday is about alleged cheating of flat buyers, according to a senior IPS officer of Navi Mumbai police. The Taloja police had, in last June, registered an FIR and Navi Mumbai Economic Offences Wing of police took over the case later. Along with Mr Bhujbal, his son Pankaj, nephew Sameer and others are charged with cheating, criminal conspiracy and criminal breach of trust under IPC and under Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act.
The case involves an amount of Rs 44 crore and concerns 2,300 people who had booked flats in the Hex World project in Kharghar area, promoted by Devisha Infrastructure, a company owned by the Bhujbals, by paying 10 per cent advance. The company took the bookings in 2010. But the work didn’t start, so a group of some 30 buyers approached a court over the delay, which led to the registration of an FIR.
Earlier in the day, while appearing before the Bombay high court in the PIL filed by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) seeking registration of FIR against Bhujbal and his family for alleged misappropriation of funds and land grabbing, the ACB counsel told the HC that another chargesheet would be filed against Bhujbal in case of alleged kickbacks received in the award of contract of the state central library on Kalina campus of the Mumbai University.
ACB said that the magnitude of the Kalina land grabbing case was huge and it would therefore take some time to conduct the probe. Hence, ACB said, it needed a month’s time to investigate the matter and file a chargesheet.
