Taxmen order attachment of Rs 1,400-crore properties of Ajit Pawar's kin
Mumbai(PTI): Following extensive nationwide searches on Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's relatives last month, the taxmen on Tuesday provisionally sent orders to attach their properties in Mumbai, New Delhi, Pune, Goa and also over two dozen land parcels across the state with a combined market value of around Rs 1,400 crore.
An Income Tax source confirmed that their benami properties division has issued the provisional attachment orders under the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act of 1988, regarding various properties linked to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader's family members, including his son Parth Pawar.
Ajit Pawar is the nephew of NCP chief Sharad Pawar.
The Deputy CM's relatives have been given 90 days to prove these properties legitimately belong to them and not purchased with illicit money and that during the pendency of the probe, they cannot sell these properties, the source said.
These properties include the Jarandeshwar sugar factory in Satara that is valued at around Rs 600 crore, a Rs 250-crore resort in Goa called Nilaya, the office of Parth Pawar at Nirmal House in south Mumbai valued around Rs 25 crore, a Rs 20 crore flat in south Delhi, and land parcels in over two dozen locations across the state with a combined market value of Rs 500 crore.
Notably, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is also probing the Jarandeshwar Sahakari Sugar Karkhana in Satara controlled by Ajit Pawar's family members in an alleged Rs 750-crore loan scam case.
On October 7, the central agency searched a firm where Parth Pawar is a director, a few companies owned by Ajit Pawar's sisters, two real estate companies linked to him, and the premises of directors of four sugar mills across the state reportedly indirectly linked to the NCP leader's family.
On October 15, the taxmen claimed in a statement that they have unearthed unaccounted income worth Rs 184 crore after its searches at premises of two real estate groups in Mumbai linked to Ajit Pawar's relatives.
The I-T department sleuths, without naming Ajit Pawar, had also claimed that these two realty firms infused unaccounted funds across several companies through suspicious deals with the involvement of an influential family in the state.
Ajit Pawar is the second senior-most NCP leader who is under the scanner of central agencies for amassing illegal properties worth several hundred crores.
Senior NCP leader and former state home minister Anil Deshmukh is also being probed by the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in alleged extortion and money laundering cases.
Deshmukh was arrested by the ED late Monday night in a money laundering case linked to an alleged extortion racket in the state police establishment.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
