NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule criticized the Enforcement Directorate's move to attach assets of a sugar mill belonging to a company owned by Rohit Pawar, who is the grandnephew of NCP (SP) leader Sharad Pawar. Sule denounced the action as an abuse of power by the Enforcement Directorate.
Rohit’s name did not figure in the original case registered by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Maharashtra government, she claimed. The original first information report (FIR) registered by the EOW, which comes under the state home ministry, did not have Rohit Pawar’s name. The EOW had filed a closure report in that case, but the ED opposed the report, she said, speaking to reporters.
Sule further asserted that the FIR filed by the EOW included names of individuals associated with the BJP or its allied parties. She questioned the fairness of such actions, stating, "What sort of justice is this? If someone has made a mistake, you are free to take action, but just because he is fighting for and speaking the truth, wouldn’t this action be injustice to him?" Sule condemned the move as nothing but a misuse of power and the misuse of 'ICE' (a term coined by NCP (SP) to refer to central agencies such as Income Tax, CBI, and ED).
ED had seized assets valued at over Rs 50 crore from a sugar mill owned by Rohit Pawar’s company. This action was taken in connection with a money laundering investigation related to the alleged Maharashtra State Co-operative Bank (MSCB) scam, as stated by the ED. According to their statement, a total of 161.30 acres of land, along with plant, machinery, and buildings of the Kannad Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana Limited (Kannad SSK) situated in Kannad village of Aurangabad district, were provisionally attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.