The State Home Department in Maharashtra is gearing up for a significant overhaul of its top police leadership, including the position of Director General of Police (DGP) and Police Commissioners of Nagpur and Thane. The impending retirement of the current DGP, Rajnish Seth, on December 31 has prompted the department to commence the process of selecting his successor.A top rank official said that several prominent names have emerged as contenders for the esteemed position of State DGP. The frontrunner is Senior IPS Officer Rashmi Shukla, who currently serves as the Director General (DG) of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB). Mumbai Police Commissioner Vivek Phansalkar is also a strong candidate for the role. Other notable contenders include Thane CP Jaijeet Singh, DG ATS Sadanand Date, DG Police Housing Sandeep Bishnoi, DG Railway Pradnya Sarvade, Additional Director of NIA Atulchandra Kulkarni, and DG State Security Corporation Bipin Kumar Singh, he said. He further stated that the State Home
- ED suspects money laundering in Wasankar case
By Dheeraj Fartode
The multicrore Wasankar scam is on the radar of Enforcement Directorate (ED) as officials of ED are suspecting a money laundering angle in this complex case involving huge cash transactions and benami investments. There was turnover of hundreds of crore and it was widely believed that many prominent political leaders and businessmen received generous amounts from Wasankar. However, the Economic Offences Wing (EoW) is yet to trace the entire mysterious ‘money trail’ as Wasankar had circulated the money through 145 bank accounts. “Wasankar could be booked under stringent Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) so that ED can investigate the case with full powers,” said an ED official.
The official told The Hitavada that ED officials had taken custody documents related to Wasankar scam. The officials are studying the documents and searching money laundering point in the case. Once the ED starts probe in full swing, it requires hardly three to four months to complete investigation and detect the money trail, said the official.
Sources informed that there is a possibility that Wasankar had stashed money abroad to close friends or routed the money through CA or even using Hawala channel to other countries or pumped it into the real estate sector of Mumbai. Current investigating agency EoW has little powers to find out the money trail and hence, the agency could trace only 30% amount of gullible investors. If ED decides to take over the investigation then it will be very tough for Wasankar and his associates to maintain secrecy about assets safely hidden from the present investigating agency, sources claimed.
Prashant Wasankar and his accomplices were booked under various sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors Act (MPID) on May 9, 2014 and first charge-sheet of 4,000 pages and another supplementary chargesheet has been filed in the case.
His arrest -- was a big blow for hundreds of his investors and admirers who viewed him as some sort of financial wizard with a Midas touch. Initially, a substantial number of investors mobilised support for Wasankar and termed the complainants as spoilsports, but later harsh reality surfaced before them and many of them quietly filed complaints against Wasankar.
EoW to put up another supplementary chargesheet
EoW will put up another supplementary chargesheet in Wasankar case this month. The cops are preparing all documents and the chargesheet is in final stages.
First chargesheet was filed in the case in September 2014 and second chargesheet was filed after three months. So far, 650 gullible investors have registered complaints against Wasankar Wealth Management for duping collectively to the tune of Rs 175 crore.
Cops have attached properties of Wasankar worth Rs 18 crore and cash of Rs Nine crore. Another Rs 26 crore are likely to be seized by police, sources claimed. Till date, cops have booked 14 persons including Prashant Wasankar and his relatives for duping gullible investors.
IT sleuths also probing the case
The Income Tax department is also keeping a close tab on the entire case and started its own investigations to check tax evasion angle. Sources informed that the IT officials are checking all documents and transactions in the case so that they can unearth tax evasion in the case. “There is possibility of tax evasion by Wasankar,” an IT official informed. Besides, many investors who pumped in cash or routed money in the name of senior citizens are also under IT scanner.
What is PMLA ?
PMLA is the most important and stringent law as it empowers certain officers of the Directorate of Enforcement to carry out investigations in cases involving offence of money laundering and also to attach the property involved in money laundering. With the use of PMLA, the ED can find out money stashed at another country too. This is the most helpful act in which other countries extend proper help to ED as money laundering can be use for terrorism.
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