BJP's Kirit Somaiya welcomes ED move to attach Maharashtra sugar mill; Links unit to Ajit Pawar

Mumbai, July 01: BJP leader Kirit Somaiya on Thursday welcomed the ED's move to attach a sugar mill worth over Rs 65 crore in Maharashtra under an anti-money laundering law and claimed the factory was a benami property of state deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar.

Jarandeshwar Sahkari Sugar Karkhana (Jarandeshwar SSK), located at Chimangaon-Koregaon in Satara district, has been attached in connection with the alleged Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank (MSCB) scam, the Enforcement Directorate said in New Delhi.

A provisional order has been issued under criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for attaching the land, building, structure, plant and machinery of the sugar mill, it said.

Somaiya, in a statement in Mumbai, hailed the ED move and said he has requested the central agency to investigate what he claimed was a dubious transaction related to another sugar mill involving Rohit Pawar, an NCP MLA and grandnephew of NCP president Sharad Pawar.

The former MP alleged MSCB money was "looted" by the Pawar family to acquire sugar factories. The ED has also said a company linked to Ajit Pawar and his wife is involved in the money laundering case.