Shiv Sena Minister Sanjay Shirsat's ‘cash bag’ video goes viral, he says only clothes in bag
Mumbai, Jul 11 (PTI): A video of Maharashtra minister Sanjay Shirsat sitting in a room along with a partially opened bag containing what look like bundles of notes went viral on Friday.
The Shiv Sena minister rubbished the claim that it was a money bag, and insisted that it contained only clothes.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, who posted the video on X, said Union home minister Amit Shah should take note.
“I feel pity for Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis! How many more times will he just sit and watch his reputation being torn to shreds? Helplessness has another name: Fadnavis!” Raut posted on X.
Talking to reporters in Mumbai, Shirsat said, “The house seen in the video is my home. It shows I am sitting (clad in a banian) in my bedroom. My pet dog and a bag are also seen. This means that I have just returned from travel and removed my clothes. If I have to keep such a big bag of money, is there a dearth of cupboards? “But they see (currency) notes even in cloth bag,” Shirsat said. “Had there been money, I would have kept it in the cupboard,” he said. Asked if there were only clothes in the bag, the minister said, “Of course. There were clothes in it.” “Such claims won’t affect my (political) career,” he added.
The video surfaced a day after reports emerged of Shirsat facing scrutiny from the Income Tax Department regarding a significant increase in his declared assets, which surged from Rs 3.3 crore in 2019 to Rs 35 crore in 2024.
The IT department has requested an explanation for this significant increase in his financial worth between the 2019 and 2024 assembly elections.
Shirsat told media on Thursday that he has sought more time to reply to the notice.
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Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
