Rohit Pawar, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA and grandnephew of Sharad Pawar, appeared before the Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday to record his statement for questioning in connection with the Maharashtra State Cooperative (MSC) Bank scam case. He was accompanied by NCP working president Supriya Sule to the investigative agency’s Mumbai office.
While the NCP-Sharad Pawar faction leader Rohit Pawar was being questioned by the ED, the NCP working president Supriya Sule while talking to the reporters outside the agency’s office said, “Investigation must be transparent and fair. I have full faith in the ED and I am sure they will hear Rohit’s side. We are going to completely cooperate with all the agencies because we have nothing to hide.”
Before entering the ED premises in Mumbai, the NCP MLA Rohit Pawar said, “I am carrying all the files and documents that the agency had asked for. I will answer all the questions of ED and will support them. The ED officials are just doing their work, I don’t have anything against them.”
“I am ready to support them in every possible way. If all this is done to put pressure on me, they have done this experiment on the wrong person. I am not scared of anyone. I don’t think they are going to arrest me but we will fight,” the NCP leader was quoted by news agency ANI.
Ahead of Rohit’s appearance before the ED, Sharad Pawar and Supriya Sule reached the NCP office in order to show their support for Rohit, who was also present there on Wednesday morning. The NCP leader was also seen touching the feet of the NCP supremo before heading for the central agency’s office along with Sule.
The Maharashtra State Cooperative (MSC) Bank scam case relates to the alleged fraudulent disbursal of loans amounting to 25,000 crore. A PIL was filed in the Bombay High Court by four persons concerning the case, shedding light on the alleged modus operandi of the fraud. It was alleged that some sugar mills defaulted on the loans, which were given without due diligence.
The Economic Offences Wing (EOW), which operates under the Maharashtra government, investigated the case. Following its probe, the EOW filed a closure report in the Bombay Session Court in 2020, however, the ED filed an intervention plea against the closure report and started an investigation in the case.