Pune land deal linked to Parth Pawar's firm: Suspended sub-registrar Ravindra Taru arrested
Pune (PTI): Sub-registrar Ravindra Taru, who was suspended after irregularities emerged in the Mundhwa land deal in Pune, was arrested on Sunday by Pimpri Chinchwad police, an official said.
The case deals with the fraudulent sale of a 40-acre government plot to a firm in which Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's son Parth is a partner.
"A case was lodged against Ravindra Balkrushna Taru on the complaint of Joint District Registrar Santosh Hingane at Bavdhan police station. He was arrested today," Pimpri Chinchwad Deputy Commissioner of Police Vishal Gaikwad said.
An inquiry report of a committee headed by Rajendra Muthe, Joint Inspector General of Registration (IGR), stated that Taru (58) processed the sale deed on May 19 this year using a critical loophole in the registration system.
Taru used the "skip" option in the e-mutation process to register a sale deed for government-owned land in Mundhwa, classifying it as "movable property" to bypass the mandatory verification procedures, the report said.
As per police, land was illegally sold to Parth Pawar's Amadea Enterprises LLP for Rs 300 crore, despite the property's estimated market value of Rs 1,800 crore.
"Sub-registrar Taru failed to verify this crucial fact, thereby violating Section 18 of Registration Act 1908. This section explicitly requires registrars to verify ownership status before registering any property transaction, particularly when government land is involved," the investigation report said.
The report also names Amadea Enterprises LLP Digvijay Patil, as well as Shital Tejwani, who acted as power of attorney holder and sold the land. She has since been arrested.
Taru's arrest comes on the eve of the Maharashtra legislature's Winter session in Nagpur.
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Pune journalist booked on voyeurism charge for filming woman at lodge
Pune (PTI): Police have registered a case of voyeurism against a television journalist in Pune for allegedly filming a woman in an objectionable position without her consent at a lodge in the city, officials said on Saturday.
The FIR was filed against Rohan Kadam under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections 77 (voyeurism) and 3(5) (common intention) at the Vishrambaug police station here, while the complaint mentions that he was accompanied by three other journalists, they said.
The incident took place on April 8 when the accused had checked into a room at a lodge in Budhwar Peth, which houses a red light area.
In her complaint, the woman said that while she was wearing her saree after establishing "physical relations with a customer", she realised that an unidentified person was filming her through a net above the partition wall between the rooms.
She opened the door of her room and knocked on the adjacent door, asking the person to come out, the FIR said.
"The woman sought clarification from Kadam, who gave vague answers and refused to show his phone. When the lodge operator, the woman and others questioned him, he claimed that they were a group of four journalists conducting a sting operation," it said.
Police said Kadam was assaulted when he allegedly tried to flee from the spot.
The woman later approached the Vishrambaug police station and lodged a complaint.
"We have registered a case in this regard and further probe is on," a police officer said.
Meanwhile, the Pune Union of Working Journalists (PUWJ) has written a letter to city Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar, seeking action against the journalist for the alleged act.
In the letter, the journalists' body said there were murmurs that some journalists and others were trying to ensure that no offence is registered in the matter.
"We do not agree with this and clarify that PUWJ will not come in the way of the probe," the letter stated.
