Nirupam Seeks ED Probe into Thackerays’ Property Deal

Mumbai: Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam on Thursday demanded an Enforcement Directorate (ED) probe into a property bought by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s family in 2017.

He said that the 10,000-sqft plot in Kalanagar was purchased by the Thackerays from a firm headed by Rajbhushan Dixit and Jagbhushan Dixit of Platinum Infrastructure. Nirupam alleged that Rajbhushan Dixit is a director of Sterling Biotech and he has been investigated and booked by CBI and ED on charges of bank fraud and money laundering.

“The Thackerays managed to purchase this prime property for `5.8 crore only. If you go by the market value, then the value of the property is much more. Prima facie, there has been a massive undervaluation. Besides the official cheque payment, cash transaction has also happened,” said Nirupam.

The Congress leader said that an ED probe was required to investigate whether Rajbhushan and his brother laundered money from the deal. When asked about the implications of his allegations, Nirupam said, “This has no connection with the Congress or the Shiv Sena… I have always been speaking about what I feel is the truth and will keep doing it.”

The Shiv Sena didn’t give any official reaction to the allegations.

Maharashtra’s higher and technical education minister Uday Samant, who was addressing a press conference on Thursday, when asked about Nirupam’s allegations, said, “I don’t think we need to give credence to what Nirupam is saying, everyone knows about him.”