Row erupts after cash found at govt guest house in Maha

NCP leader, son named in dowry harassment, suicide case expelled

- HT Correspondent

MUMBAI: The recovery of a stash of cash from a government guest house at Dhule in north Maharashtra triggered a massive political row and blame game on Thursday, prompting a series of actions including chief minister Devendra Fadnavis ordering a probe by a special investigation team (SIT) and state legislative council chairperson Ram Shinde suspending a legislature officer.

The controversy erupted after opposition Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders in Dhule, led by party leader Anil Gote (a former MLA with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) till 2019), found ₹1.8 crore in the guest house's room number 102 on Wednesday. They alleged that the money was collected by contractors who have undertaken government projects to bribe members of the state legislature's estimate committee, whose chairperson is ruling Shiv Sena legislator Arjun Khotkar. Their claim was also endorsed by Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders further alleged that the room was booked in the name of Khotkar's personal assistant Kishor Patil. Khotkar and members of the committee, who were in Dhule to follow up on government projects' spending, denied any connection with the cash.

"Soon after we reached the guest house, the people who were residing there ran away after locking the room. I sat outside the room, accompanied by my party leaders, as we had information that there was cash inside amounting to ₹5 crore. Police eventually arrived at around midnight and found that there was cash amounting to ₹1.8 crore," Gote alleged.