Vendetta behind criminal cases: APMC traders

The traders, mostly staunch supporters of NCP founder Sharad Pawar, allege the cases have been foisted on them due to political vendetta, while Pawar has threatened a state-wide agitation if Shinde is arrested. But BJP leaders say the punitive action is the outcome of a long investigation, and more corruption is likely to be unearthed soon

NAVI MUMBAI: Several leading traders and former office-bearers of the Agricultural Produce Market Commitee (APMC) at Vashi including the NCP (SP) Lok Sabha candidate from Satara, Shashikant Shinde, have been booked in criminal cases and arrested/ interrogated over the past week. The traders, mostly staunch supporters of NCP founder Sharad Pawar, allege the cases have been foisted on them due to political vendetta, while Pawar has threatened a state-wide agitation if Shinde is arrested. But BJP leaders say the punitive action is the outcome of a long investigation, and more corruption is likely to be unearthed soon.

Following Shashikant Shinde’s nomination as the NCP (SP) candidate from Satara, former APMC director and leading trader Sanjay Pansare was arrested in connection with the toilet scam. Two other former directors, Ashok Walunj and Shankar Pingle, were also reportedly interrogated. (PTI)

A former APMC director and working president of the powerful Maharashtra Rajya Mathadi, Transport and General Kamgar Union, Shashikant Shinde is a staunch Sharad Pawar loyalist. He was elected MLA four times, twice each from Jaoli (1999, 2009) and Koregaon (2009, 2019) assembly constituencies in Satara district. He lost the 2019 assembly poll to Shiv Sena candidate Mahesh Shinde but was nominated to the legislative council by the party in 2020.

On November 11, 2023, Shinde was named as an accused in a ₹7.6-crore scam in the maintenance and upkeep of 11 toilets at the APMC market. Though he was granted anticipatory bail two months ago, following his nomination as the NCP (SP) candidate from Satara, another former APMC director and leading trader Sanjay Pansare was arrested in the toilet scam. Two other former directors, Ashok Walunj and Shankar Pingle, were also reportedly interrogated.

Even as the probe into the toilet scam gathered steam and more arrests seemed likely, Shinde and 24 others including former APMC directors and bureaucrats were booked in a fresh case. As reported by HT on April 29, Shinde and others were named as accused in a ₹62-crore alleged scam involving allocation of space at the APMC market at depreciated rates.

APMC traders and mathadi workers are known to be staunch loyalists of Sharad Pawar and his supporters are often elected to the APMC board as directors and office-bearers. In recent times, however, with prominent mathadi leader Narendra Patil joining the BJP, equations have changed.

Patil, in fact, had contested the 2019 Lok Sabha poll on a Shiv Sena ticket with the BJP’s support and his opponent was Udayan Raje Bhosale, then in the NCP. In this election, however, Bhosale is the BJP candidate from Satara and he will take on Shinde, who finds himself embroiled in a fresh case in the midst of the election.

The police have denied any political motive behind their recent actions, saying they were based on investigation. But the NCP (SP) sees no merit in the claim.

Shinde alleged the cases were a means of pressuring him as the BJP can already sense a defeat in Satara. “The cases are being raked up right now to damage my prospects in the election,” he said. The BJP has resorted to similar tactics elsewhere too, he alleged, and spoke about the sealing of Abhijeet Patil’s sugar factory.

Prominent mathadi leader Narendra Patil, the state vice president of BJP, denied allegations of political vendetta, saying, “These investigations have been going on for a very long time and what is happening now is on the basis of findings of the police.”

He claimed that APMC traders and former office-bearers who have been implicated in cases were not only supporters of Sharad Pawar but had good relations with leaders of various political parties. “Bureaucrats have been booked too. The law has taken its course,” he said.

Patil claimed that Sharad Pawar purposely nominated Shinde despite knowing about the case against him as well as the fact that he was out on anticipatory bail. “It Pawar believes Shinde is clean, he should state so in an affidavit instead of threatening to hold protests,” he said.

Patil also cautioned that more corruption in the functioning of the APMC would be unearthed soon, saying, “This is just the tip of the iceberg. A lot of skeletons will tumble out when detailed investigations are carried out on the APMC functioning over the years.”