Case filed against NCP MLA from Maharashtra for misappropriation of funds worth Rs1.05 crore

Mumbai city news: After Chhagan Bhujbal, Pankaj Bhujbal and Ramesh Kadam, Sopal is the fourth MLA from the NCP against whom a case has been registered

The police have filed an FIR against MLA Dilip Sopal, of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), after he was accused of misappropriation of funds of the Barshi APMC (Agriculture Produce Market Committee) in Solapur district of Western Maharashtra. The case was registered against the former minister after a complaint by district audit officer VB Doke, who during an investigation found an alleged malpractice by 18 ex-directors of the Barshi APMC board, including Sopal.

NCP MLA Dilip Sopal(Hindustan Times)

The ex-directors are accused of misappropriation funds of worth Rs1.05 crore by misusing the rent amount, illegally recruiting workers, paying them daily wages against holidays, signing illegal agreement for cold storage and providing loans more than Rs15 lakh to daily-wage workers without any approval, said state cooperation minister Subhash Deshmukh.

“The case against the 18 was registered only after the district audit officer found malpractice by the board of directors in its report for April 1, 2015 to March 31, 2016. The state government will not spare anyone who is found involved in any such activities,” he added.

However, Sopal has termed action against him as political vendetta and blamed Deshmukh, who is also from Solapur district.

“This is all false and I am ready to fight,” Sopal said. Since the term of the APMC committee ended in September last year, elections were not conducted at his behest and later, administrators were appointed.

After Chhagan Bhujbal, Pankaj Bhujbal and Ramesh Kadam, Sopal is the fourth MLA from the NCP against whom a case has been registered. Chhagan Bhujbal is in jail facing money laundering charges while Kadam is accused of embezzlement of funds worth more than Rs300 crore of a state-run Lokshahir Annabhau Sathe Development Corporation meant to financially assist socially backward classes. The enforcement directorate (ED) has also attached assets worth Rs 120 crore in this case. Apart from them, another two senior leaders Ajit Pawar and Sunil Tatkare are also facing allegations for their involvement in a multi-crore irrigation scam.