Conducting probe against people in power shouldn't be problem": Rohit Pawar on ex-IPS officer's 2010 land deal claim

In response to the allegations made by former Pune police commissioner Meeran Chadha Borwankar in her book regarding the involvement of the then district minister in a controversial police land auction,  Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA Rohit Pawar on Monday said there shouldn't be a problem in conducting a probe against people who are in power.

In her book, Madam Commissioner, Borwankar has claimed that the then district minister had insisted in 2010 that she complete the process of handing over an auctioned plot belonging to her department to the winning bidder, who was later cited as an accused by the CBI in the 2G scam. While the book doesn't explicitly mention the district minister's name, the retired IPS officer's statements appear to allude to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP leader Ajit Pawar. He held the position of guardian minister for Pune district during the tenure of the Congress-NCP government in the state.

Rohit Pawar spoke to reporters in Pune on Monday regarding his Yuva Sangharsh Yatra, scheduled to begin on October 25 and culminate on December 7. I am in the opposition, and agencies, including the state pollution board and the income tax department, are carrying out a probe against me. There shouldn't be any objection about conducting an inquiry against people who are in power (Ajit Pawar) in connection with the allegations, he said.

The NCP leader further said though he was not privy to the details of the allegations, the person who has levelled the charges is a well-known and respected government officer and if the state government wants, it can verify her claims.