AAP guns for Gadkari, files complaint against BJP MP Sancheti

Training its guns on the BJP in Maharashtra, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) lodged a complaint with the Economic Offences Wing of the Nagpur Police on Monday alleging cheating and forgery by firms owned by the BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP Ajay Sancheti while procuring irrigation contracts worth crores of rupees from the Maharashtra government.

The move came a day after AAP announced that its leader Anjali Damania will contest the Lok Sabha elections from Nagpur, a seat held by  former BJP president Nitin Gadkari, who Sancheti is known to be very close to. Damania and other AAP workers lodged a complaint and submitted a sheaf of documents to the Nagpur police demanding that they register an FIR against Sancheti.

AAP’s complaint stated that as per the Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation (VIDC) rules, between September 2006 and August 2010, no contractor could take up more than three contracts at a time, reported The Times of India .

“Sancheti’s company, originally named Shaktikumar M Sancheti Ltd, allegedly changed its name to SMS Infrastructure Ltd in November 28, 2005 and applied for renewal of its enrolment certificate to VIDC on September 25, 2006. Amazingly, it seems Sancheti managed to procure two separate enrolment certificates from VIDC- both numbered 1083 - one under the old name and other in the new name,” the complaint states.

Sancheti bagged the contracts through joint venture firms formed with SN Thakkar Construction Pvt Ltd and D Thakkar Constructions Pvt Ltd, which are sister concerns of each other with 50% directors in common, the report said.

“Ajay Sancheti in collusion with Anand Sancheti, Jigar P Thakkar alias Dattani, Vishal P Thakkar alias Dattani and others continued to bid for and obtain contracts from VIDC both the old as well as new company names, thus circumventing the three works maximum rule,” it alleged and claimed that after the name change, the corporate entity Shaktikumar M Sancheti stopped existing, which means every document prepared in its name amounts to a ‘forged document’.

According to The Times of India report, Sancheti was not aware of the police complaint. “Besides, I no longer look after the operations of this firm,” Sancheti was quoted as saying.

Police officials are likely to conduct a preliminary inquiry before deciding whether to register an FIR in the matter.