Mumbai Police Forms SIT to Probe Rs 500 Crore Maratha Quota Allegation

Mumbai Police has launched a Special Investigation Team to probe allegations of a Rs 500 crore bribe offered to activist Manoj Jarange Patil, sparking a major political row ahead of the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections.

Formation of SIT in Maratha Quota Allegation

Mumbai Police, on instructions of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, on Monday formed a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the allegation regarding Rs 500 crore offered to Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil. The SIT, led by Addl CP South Region Mumbai, Shailesh Balkawade, will conduct a forensic examination of the said audio recordings presented by Jarange Patil.

Details of the Alleged Audio Clip

The alleged audio clip claimed that Jarange Patil was paid Rs 500 crore by Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde, son of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, at the behest of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to weaken the movement for Maratha reservation ahead of the 2024 Assembly elections. The activist has claimed that he never received any money and had demanded an investigation into the case. He had demanded an SIT probe into the matter and also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene.

Political Fallout and Allegations

Meanwhile, the purported audio clip has led to a political row in Maharashtra and a reported rift within the Mahayuti allies. Earlier today, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah demanding an Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigation into allegations. “This is a matter under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Kindly entrust the investigation to the Enforcement Directorate (ED),” Raut wrote on X.

Sanjay Raut's Demands and BJP Response

Posting the letter to the Union Minister on X, Raut said that apart from the BJP “buying MPs and MLAs”, the party has allegedly started “buying agitations as well”. "The Rs 500 crore matter in Maharashtra must have surely reached you by now. Until now, the BJP has been buying MPs, MLAs, political parties and elections. Now it has begun buying agitations as well. The BJP handed over money to Shrikant Shinde so that Rs 500 crore could be given to Manoj Jarange Patil. Where did this money come from? And did it actually reach Jarange or not?” Raut added in his post. BJP spokesperson Navnath Kamal Uttamrao Ban has accused Sanjay Raut of creating the purported clip using AI. (ANI)

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