Targeting public works minister Chhagan Bhu-jbal, senior BJP leader Dr Kirit Somaiya on Sunday demanded a probe into the alleged involvement of Mr Bhujbal’s personal assistant Shailash Changle in a slum redevelopment scheme.
He has also written a letter to governor K. Sank-aranarayanan demanding the same. Mr Changle refuted the allegations terming them as baseless, and dared Dr Somaiya to prove any financial irregularities in the land deal.
In his letter to the governor, Dr Somaiya said that Mr Changle had bought 1,25,000 square feet area of land in the name of his wife and father in the eastern suburb of Bhandup. The land, he alleged, was part of a `500 crore SRA project. “We want the deal to be investigated, as we believe it is a ‘benami’ investment,” he said.
When asked whether he was implying that Mr Bhujbal was responsible for sealing the deal, Dr Somaiya said that this would only be known after the investigation.
Mr Changle, however, claimed that Dr Somaiya actually wanted to target the public works minister. “My family’s name is unnecessarily being dra-gged,” he said, adding that there is no truth to the allegations.
“My father has been in the business of land deals for the past 20 years. He bought the property for `97 lakh in 2008, and registered it in 2011. The land is owned by four persons, and he bought a small piece from one of them. There is no such proposed SRA project on the said land as has been claimed by Dr Somaiya. My father is even ready to sell the land to him for `5 crore. We request him to please buy the land from us.”
The BJP leader had earlier made allegations against another officer — Sandeep Bedse — working in Mr Bhujbal’s office. Mr Bedse was the then officer on special duty. After the allegations, the public works minister immediately removed him from his office.