Builder suicide: NCP MLA clarifies on money received from

NCP MLA and former minister Jitendra Awhad today clarified that money transferred to his account by corporator Najeeb Mulla, accused of abetting the suicide of local builder Suraj Parmar, was a legitimate business transaction.
Awhad said the money was transferred not from Mulla's personal account as reported by media, but from a construction firm in which he, Mulla and two others are business partners.
Mulla and three other corporators from Thane are accused of abetting suicide of Parmar who had shot himself on October 7. His suicide note alleged that a nexus of corporators and officials was harassing him for bribes.

Awhad's clarification came close on the heels of the Bombay High Court today rejecting the pre-arrest bail pleas of Mulla, Hanumant Jagdale (both NCP), Vikrant Chavan (Congress), and Sudhakar Chavan (independent) and some media reports claiming that over Rs 1 crore was transferred to his account by Mulla.
Public prosecutor Raja Thakare, while opposing the bail pleas, told the HC that one of the accused had transferred over Rs one crore to the account of an NCP MLA and all financial transactions need to be probed.
"The transactions were official and there was nothing wrong in them," Awhad stated in a release.

The former Minister in the Congress-led Democratic Front government said he was partner in a company M/s Dream Home, set up in 2009, along with Mulla, Milind Patil and his brother Vishal Patil.

"The company got the contract to develop a property in Kalyan after complying with all conditions. However, it took four years for us to obtain occupation certificate for the said work. As a partner of M/s Dream Home, I received certain amount which I am not denying," Awhad stated.
However, he did not disclose the exact amount he received as a business partner.
"The money was given to me by Dream Home company and not from the personal account of Najeeb Mulla. Even Income Tax department is aware of it (transaction)," he claimed.

Awhad said Mulla and he had been friends for over 25 years.
"There have been monetary transactions but only through the business house and there is not a single personal transaction (with Mulla)," he added.