Court sends ex-MP Sameer Bhujbal to judicial custody till Feb 22

MUMBAI: A special court on Monday remanded arrested ex-MP Sameer Bhujbal nephew of NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal to judicial custody till February 22 in a money laundering case. The Enforcement Directorate had arrested Sameer last Monday and had received his custody till February 8 from court. The investigating agency had raided nine places linked to the Bhujbals and their associates.
On Monday, ED counsel Hiten Venegaonkar sought a 14-day judicial remand for Bhujbal after saying that the agency has investigated and recorded his statements in custody on five dates under the prevention of money laundering act and collected several documents from various companies of his. The probe is underway to locate and attach proceeds of crime under PMLA. But if the accused is released at this stage, there is a great likelihood of his attempting to influence the other conspirators and witnesses in order to wriggle out of the clutches of law. He may also attempt to destroy and tamper with evidence to frustrate ongoing investigation,'' said the second remand plea filed by S V Kinjawadekar, assistant director, ED.
The ED produced Sameer almost around 4.35 pm. The judge asked him if he had any complaints and he had none.
Sameer's counsel Amit Desai said Sameer was cooperating fully with the probe. He raised an objection to a statement in the second remand about two directors of a company who the ED said are not traceable. "The agency is trying to create a wrong impressions as if he is trying to withhold crucial persons in the case when the fact is that one of them Nilesh Shahu is abroad and had gone there on a programme scheduled a year ago and will be back in a day or two after which he will present himself before the ED. The other director has gone to the PMLA office in Delhi.'' Venegaonkar said the ED officers make statements responsibly and had issued summons.
The ED is investigating Sameer, uncle Chhaggan Bhujla and his son Pankaj in the case concerning a contract Chhagan Bhujbal gave a builder in 2005 without inviting tenders, when he was the PWD minister in Maharashtra. The builder got the development rights of a slum in Andheri on RTO land, with the condition that Maharashtra Sadan in Delhi, the RTO building in Andheri and a guest house on Malabar Hill be constructed in return, it is alleged.
The three Bhujbals allegedly got kickbacks, routed through benami firms. ED believes that part of the money has been taken out of the country and a part has been invested in one of the family's realty projects in Navi Mumbai.