March 15, 2016
NCP leader and former Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal was arrested Monday evening after being questioned for over nine hours by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in an alleged money laundering case which the agency claims caused a loss of Rs 870 crore to the exchequer. The ED is probing alleged kickbacks received by Bhujbal and his kin for favouring contractors in construction of the Maharashtra Sadan in New Delhi and the Kalina Central Library, works which were awarded when he was state PWD minister — he held the portfolio from November 2004 to September 2014. He started his political career with the Shiv Sena, joined the Congress and later the NCP of Sharad Pawar.
The ED has alleged that the Bhujbals received cash in lieu of projects awarded to contractors and “channeled such illegal cash into various companies and integrated it into business activities” of companies they controlled.