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The CBI, led by S C Gupta, superintendent of police, had arrested Pawar and Shinde on Monday night on the charges of demanding a bribe for passing pending bills and work orders. The CBI trapped them on a complaint from a private contractor, Ramesh Chugh. The duo had reportedly demanded Rs 3.2 lakh from Chugh.
According to the report submitted by A S Rao, inspector, CBI Anti Corruption Bureau (Mumbai), the bribe, which the duo reduced to Rs 1.25 lakh, taken from Chugh was recovered from Pawar. The amount was recovered in presence of an independent witness. Also, Rs 82,000 in cash, besides invoices showing purchase of gold worth around Rs 3.5 lakh were seized in a search at his residence.
Six blank non-judicial stamp papers were also found. A search at Shinde’s residence uncovered incriminating documents.
Special public prosecutor Ejaz Khan said the CBI had recorded the conversation between Pawar, Shinde and the contractor, in which Pawar and Shinde demanded the money. Khan, saying the nexus between Pawar and Shinde needed to be probed and any earlier instances probed, sought police remand of the accused. Advocate Sudhir Shah, defending Pawar, argued that Pawar had not accepted the bribe and the money had been found on one of the chairs in the corridor of the DCB office. He said Anand Engineers and Contractors, owned by the complainant, had been blacklisted by the DCB for five years because of a report prepared by Shinde.
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