Eknath Khadse files discharge plea in Pune land grab case

Senior political leader Eknath Khadse on Thursday moved a discharge application before a special court here in an alleged money laundering case related to a 2016 land deal in Pune district of Maharashtra reported the PTIAccording to the PTI Eknath Khadses wife Mandakini Khadse and soninlaw Girish Chaudhari have also sought discharge from the Pune land grab caseThe Khadse couple was present before special judge R N Rokade hearing cases related to MPs and MLAs when his lawyer Swapnil Ambure filed the applications The court has sought the response of the Enforcement Directorate ED which is probing the case on the pleas of the accused as per the PTIEknath Khadse a senior minister in the previous BJPled government in Maharashtra had to step down in 2016 after he was accused of misusing his position to facilitate the purchase of government land in Bhosari industrial area near Pune by his wife and soninlawThe Khadse family purchased the land for Rs 375 crore when its actual price was Rs 3101 crore the ED has allegedEven though Khadse and his wife have been named as accused in the case they were never arrested by the probe agencyTheir soninlaw was arrested in July 2021 He spent over two years in jail before being granted bail by the Supreme CourtEknath Khadse who was associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party BJP for nearly four decades had quit the party and joined the undivided Nationalist Congress Party NCP in 2020 In April this year he announced that he would soon return to his parent party BJP However he is yet to join it formally the news agency reportedPMC continues its crackdown on illegal structures at pubs and barsMeanwhile the Pune Municipal Corporation PMC continued its crackdown on unauthorised structures at pubs and bars in the city for the second day on Wednesday in the wake of alleged consumption of drugs at a local bar officials said according to the PTIAs part of the action the officials of the PMCs building department demolished illegal structures of some prominent bars including Eskobar and FML Resto Bar in Baner during the day they saidFollowing timingrelated violations at Liquid Leisure Lounge L3 bar on Punes Fergusson College Road and alleged drug use at the establishment Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had instructed to run a bulldozer on the unauthorised structures linked to the narcotic substance Accordingly the PMC has been taking action against the unauthorised structures of bars and pubswith PTI inputs