Enforcement Directorate attaches Rs 5.73-cr assets linked to Eknath Khadse

New Delhi, August 27

The Enforcement Directorate today issued provisional attachment order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to seize assets worth Rs 5.73 crore belonging to senior NCP leader Eknath Khadse and his family members, including his son-in-law Girish Chaudhary, in connection with a case relating to criminal misconduct by a public servant.

Officials in the agency said the attached assets included immovable properties worth Rs 4.86 crore and bank balance of Rs 86.28 lakh. The attached immovable assets included a bungalow in Lonavala, three land parcels and three flats in Jalgaon district of Maharashtra, they added.

Noting that the properties were in the name of the three accused in the case, Eknath Khadse, Mandakini Khadse and Girish Chaudhary, the officials said the ED move came in connection with a Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) land deal case in Pune.

Chaudhary was arrested by the ED last month. He is in judicial custody presently while Khadse has been questioned twice by the agency.

Eknath Khadse was a minister in the previous Devendra Fadnavis government in Maharashtra. Before resigning from the government in June 2016, he faced a series of charges, including allegations of corruption in the MIDC land scam. His critics pointed to a conflict of interest in the MIDC land deal as he was the Revenue Minister back then. He quit the BJP in 2020 and joined the NCP. — TNS