'Hounded' by ED, Shiv Sena Dy. Leader flees to Eknath Shinde camp

Under the scanner of the Enforcement Directorate ED Maharashtra exminister and Shiv Sena Deputy Leader Arjun Khotkar announced that he is joining the rebel faction led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde here on SaturdayDeclaring his intentions at a crowded media conference Khotkar said that he held detailed discussions with Shiv Sena President and exCM Uddhav Thackeray and Chief Spokesperson Sanjay Raut on his decisionI have explained to them the compulsions which all are aware behind my decision the harassment to my family I am forced to make certain decisions And they ThackerayRaut have understood my predicament said an emotional Khotkar without naming the EDAlso readShinde govt completes one month in office but no sign of cabinet expansion yetTo a query he said that when a person is facing a crisis he will seek protection from somewhere an indirect indictment of the central agency which is probing him and his family since the past over two yearsOn the central agency probe against him Khotkar reeled off figures of financial deals pertaining to the alleged illegal auction sale of the Jalna Cooperative Sugar Factory Ltd by the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank MSCB and claimed he was innocentA couple of days ago Raut lauded Khotkar for displaying courage and admitting to the harassment by the ED which had compelled him to take the decision to switch sides to Shinde campSeven months after he was raided in November 2021 last month June 2022 the ED attached Khotkars properties under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act PMLA in the FIR lodged by the Economic Offences Wing of Mumbai PoliceAmong other things the investigators claimed that the sugar mill was fraudulently sold by the MSCB to the relatives or associates of the banks officials and directors flouting normsKhotkars move came after he called on Shinde another rebel exminister Abdul Sattar and a union minister in the past couple of daysThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever