It was Yashwant Jadhav, who is the standing committee chairman in Shiv Sena-controlled Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), has confessed amassed wealth. It all happened like a movie scene. First Jadhav’s house, offices and then various premises belonging to him got raided, and then he was house-arrested for interrogation by the IT department. Jadhav could not take the pressure and gave details of his income sources. In the office raid, the Income Tax department found 100 crore rupees stuffed in a cupboard.
In the purported audio clip, Jadhav was asking Suraj Pratap Singh Deora — a representative of Yash Corporation — to withdraw from the contract of development works worth Rs 2.17 crore in corporator ward 206 in E-ward (Byculla). The firm had bagged the contract through e-tendering. As Deora expressed his inability to withdraw from the works, Jadhav allegedly asked him if he wanted to continue working with BMC or not. While Jadhav is a corporator from Ward-206, his wife Yamini Jadhav is the Byculla MLA.
The Income Tax department has seized Rs 2 crore in cash from the family and associates of Shiv Sena corporator Yashwant Jadhav during a raid in Mumbai. The IT department on Friday conducted a search operation at the premises of Jadhav’s family members, associates and some of the BMC contractors. The house of one of Jadhav’s associates, Bimal Agarwal, was also searched and cash recovered from there. He recently filed a case of extortion against former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh.
Investments in shell companies
There are allegations that Jadhav took bribes and invested in shell companies between 2018 and 2020. The Income Tax Department had launched a search operation at Cooper Mahal, Mazagaon, Byculla and other places.
Allegations of taking a commission from contractors
Jadhav had taken money from contractors to avail of those BMC tenders during 2018 and 2020. Sources said Jadhav took Rs 15 crore as commission. This was black money. Sources said that Jadhav gave this money to some private firms, who later transferred the entire amount to their fictitious companies. These included his family members and relatives.
When the complaint got registered against Jadhav, the IT department launched a thorough investigation and found out that around Rs Jadhav collected 15 crores as a bribe.
Transactions are done with some firms in Dubai
The IT department knew during the preliminary investigation that they did certain transactions in his account from some Dubai-based firms. IT officials had questioned Jadhav and his family members in connection with the transaction.
The opposition had demanded an audit
The opposition in Maharashtra had earlier raised the issue and demanded a thorough audit of all the tenders passed by Jadhav.
