Charge sheet filed in land scam exposed by slain RTI activist

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) today filed a charge sheet against 16 people including senior officials of IRB Infrastructure in the sessions court here in connection with a land scam exposed by the slain RTI activist Satish Shetty in 2009.
CBI prosecutor Vijaykumar Dhakane said the 2,000-page charge sheet names 16 persons including IRB chairman and managing director Virendra Mhaiskar, Deepak Gadgil, authorised signatory of M/s Aryan Infrastructures (a subsidiary of Ideal Road Builders), revenue officials, land agents, lawyers and some farmers.
Based on documents received under the Right to Information Act, Shetty had filed a cheating and forgery case with Lonavala police in October 2009 against Mhaiskar and others, alleging illegal purchase of government land in Ozarde and Pimploli villages in Maval tehsil of Pune district.

On January 13, 2010, Shetty was hacked to death at Talegaon Dabhade by unidentified assailants.
While the land scam case was initially closed after the Pune Rural police filed a closure report, the CBI, after taking over the Shetty murder case, moved the Bombay High Court in August 2014 and sought permission to reopen the land scam case.
In January 2015, the CBI conducted searches at 21 residential and office premises of IRB and its senior officials in Mumbai and Pune and claimed to have seized some incriminating material.
IRB, in a statement today, said, "...it appears that the charge sheet focuses on alleged conspiracy to attempt to cheat for acquiring certain land parcels belonging to the government/MSRDC. We deny all allegations made against Mr Mhaiskar, Mr Gadgil... the company will seek appropriate remedies under law.