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The Mumbai Police's Economic Offenses Wing (EOW) filed a closure report in the Jogeshwari land case against Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Waikar, his wife, and four close associates. This development came after Waikar joined the Eknath Shinde-led faction and subsequently won Mumbai's North West Lok Sabha seat by a narrow margin.
The case pertains to the construction of a star hotel in Jogeshwari by allegedly manipulating the land use conditions. The EOW stated that the complaint filed by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) was based on "incomplete information and misunderstanding." Waikar joined the Shiv Sena in the presence of Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde in March this year. Earlier in January, the Shiv Sena MP appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a money laundering case related to an under-construction luxury hotel in Jogeshwari. After appearing before the central agency, Waikar's lawyers called the allegations made against the Uddhav faction MLA "bogus and baseless." Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA said that he cooperated in the ED's investigation and would return if called again by the ED. "We have submitted the bank documents and other details. If complaints are made in this manner and permission is revoked after granting it, it is absolutely wrong," Waikar said while talking to reporters. Waikar's lawyers, Mohan Tekavde and Swati Tekavde, who were with the MLA for nine hours during the questioning, said, "We answered all the questions of the ED and provided them with all the details. We submitted documents from the year 2001 pertaining to this matter. There are no proceeds of the crime linked to my client and no tainted money is involved. Allegations of a Rs 500 crore scam made against Waikar are bogus and baseless." The Enforcement Directorate earlier conducted raids at seven locations related to Waikar and his partners in connection with the same case. The ED registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against Waikar in November, alleging a "Rs 500 crore 5-Star Hotel Scam." Waikar is accused of defrauding the BMC of Rs 500 crore by obtaining permission to build a five-star hotel on a plot reserved for a BMC playground. Ravindra Waikar won the Mumbai North-West constituency by a small margin of 48 votes. The constituency witnessed a close fight between both Shiv Sena factions - Eknath Shinde's Ravindra Waikar and Uddhav Thackeray's Amol Kirtikar. (ANI)
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