Maharashtra Govt nod for probe against ex-Congress Minister Harshwardhan Patil

Mumbai, Dec 31: Three weeks after approving probe into graft charges against senior NCP leaders, the BJP-led government in Maharashtra has now shifted its attention on allegations of graft against State Congress leaders.

The Home department, headed by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, has asked the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) to probe the role of former Congress Minister Harshwardhan Patil and Legislative Council member Amrish Patel in an alleged cooperative bank scam.

The file recommending an "open inquiry" into the matter has been forwarded to Chief Secretary Swadhin Kshatriya.

After his approval, the proposal will be placed before Fadnavis for final clearance. "We sent the file to the Chief Secretary two days ago.

From there, it will go to the CM office," Additional Chief Secretary Amitabh Rajan told reporters. However, the senior bureaucrat declined to disclose if the file contains names of Harshwardhan Patil and others.

The Chief Minister had earlier this month allowed ACB to launch probe into allegations of graft against former NCP ministers Ajit Pawar, Sunil Tatkare, and Chhagan Bhujbal.

Fadnavis had also cleared proposals placed before him for open inquiries against senior civil servants. The ACB had sought permission for an open inquiry in the alleged cooperative bank scam in September after its preliminary investigations found merit in allegations of corruption raised on the issue.

PTI