DA case filed against Maharashtra BJP leader's husband; sparks war of words

The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has registered a case of disproportionate assets against the husband of Maharashtra BJP leader Chitra Wagh, an official said on Saturday.

The case against Kishore Jagannath Wagh was filed on February 12 following an open enquiry in a bribery case, he said.

"It was found that 90.24 per cent of his assets were disproportionate. He has been booked under sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act," he said.

Wagh was working as a medical records librarian at Mahatma Gandhi Memorial hospital at Parel in Central Mumbai, he said.

On July 5, 2016, a case had been registered against the medical superintendent of the hospital Gajanan Bhagat, its medical records librarian Wagh and a private person Sandeep Kamble for demanding and accepting bribe, he said.

"A raid was conducted at Wagh's residence in connection with the investigation of the case and an open enquiry was initiated against him on February 11, 2017," he said.

Based on the inquiry report, a case of disproportionate assets was registered against Wagh, the official said.

Meanwhile, BJP leader Pravin Darekar alleged that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government is indulging in revenge politics by implicating the husband of Maharashtra BJP vice president Chitra Wagh in a false case.

"Chitra Wagh has been vocal against state forest minister and Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Rathod for last some weeks. Invoking an old case against her husband and filing a fresh case against him is revenge politics. This is highly unfair," the Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council said.

A 23-year-old woman died after falling from a building in Hadapsar area of Pune on February 8. Some social media posts and the opposition BJP have alleged that Maharashtra minister and Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Rathod was linked to her death.

"It is evident that the Shiv Sena-led MVA government is targeting Wagh. She has been trying to raise her voice over a woman's death...But this is a misuse of the state machinery," he said.

Countering the BJP's argument, Congress's state spokesperson Sachin Sawant said, "The case against Kishor Wagh had been filed by then BJP government in 2016. The probe was going on...it should not be politicised the way BJP is trying to do."

NCP leader Rupali Chakankar said, "The case was filed in 2016 and you should give time to police to perform their duty. If the police have found some important details, they are taking the investigation ahead."

Chitra Wagh, who was earlier with the NCP, had quit the party ahead of the state assembly polls in 2019. She was state NCP's women's wing president at that time.