Prez son grilled on Amravati cash scam

Raosaheb Shekhawat, son of President Pratibha Patil,  was grilled along with state Congress secretary and two others by Amravati Police on Tuesday, in connection with the seizure of Rs 1 crore from a party vehicle during the recent civic polls.

On February 12, just days before Amravati civic polls, the police during a routine naka bandi, intercepted a vehicle (MH-31DC-4744) at Gudgenagar taluka in Amravati district at mid-night.

The search revealed hard cash to the tune of Rs one crore which the Congress party later admitted that the ‘seized money,’ was to be distributed “amongst financially-weak candidates in Amravati.”

During Tuesday’s questioning,  police provided a questionnaire to Shekhawat,  who represents Amravati in the Assembly,Maharahstra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) general secretary Ganesh Patil, driver of the cash-ferrying vehicle Prakash Masram and the passenger Ashish Bodhankar. The four, accompanied by a local lawyer Wasim Mirza , entered Amravati Police Commissionerate at 11.30 am; they came out at around 12.30 pm, and refused to talk to the local media gathered near the gate.

According to local media, the quartet quipped: “We answered the queries put up before us in writing. We stand by what we had stated earlier. It was meant for the polls and it was not unaccounted.”

Later Amravati Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar, without providing any details of the type of questions put up before Shekhawat and three others, said: “We will be scrutinising the answers given by them. They maintain that the money was for party fund, that’s it.”

The next round of questioning will take place on February 28 wherein the police would place before the party functionaries their findings and loopholes, if found any.