Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has said that former Vasai-Virar municipal commissioner Anil Pawar and his junior, deputy director of town planning Y S Reddy, operated under the code names ‘C’ and ‘D’, respectively, during discussions with builders regarding bribe amounts. An architect of a builder said in his statement that when he informed Reddy about the total area of one of his projects, Reddy fixed the bribe amount at Rs 50 lakh for clearing the file and also determined the amount for ‘C’.The ED reported that a relative of Pawar collected Rs 3.4 crore in cash at his Dadar office, believed to have been delivered by an angadia. The ED said Pawar bought expensive sarees, pearls and gold and diamond jewellery through Reddy and the settlement happened in cash. Special public prosecutor Kavita Patil informed the court about all these details on Thursday and sought the custody of Pawar and Reddy along with two others, Sitaram Gupta, a former corportor of the BVA, and Arun Gupta, who was arrested the previous day. Special judge R B Rote remanded the four accused in ED custody till Aug 20. In the remand application, calling the scam “colossal”, the ED stated that Reddy used an intricate codeword system for the collection of commissions and bribes from builders, architects and local liaisoners. An in-depth analysis of WhatsApp chats of Reddy with the commissioner, liaisoners, architects, builders and others established who were the persons behind the code names ‘C’ and ‘D’, said the ED.The remand application included a portion of a statement from an architect representing a builder that the ED recorded during the case investigation. It stated, “Reddy asked me how much money I had to pay him. I gave him the figure of 1.95 lakh square feet, which was the total area of my last case (project) wherein permission was granted by VVCMC (Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation). So the total amount was Rs 48.75 lakh at the rate of Rs 25 per square foot, which is rounded off to Rs 50 lakh. This was the amount to be given to Reddy as DDTP. ‘D’ in the chat meant DDTP. Then I asked how much money was to be given to the commissioner VVCMC. In the chat, ‘C’ is meant to be the commissioner VVCMC, who was Anil Pawar.”The ED said that Pawar charged large commissions and bribes for granting various development permissions required from VVCMC for starting different residential, commercial and other projects. This was fixed at the rate of Rs 20-25 per sq ft of the built area of the project. It could increase to Rs 50 per sq ft depending on the complexity of the project and the wherewithal of the concerned builder. This was revealed based on statements from various builders, architects, VVCMC officers, and liaisoners, the ED informed the court.The ED said that Pawar incorporated various firms to channelise and utilise the proceeds of crime and also to integrate the proceeds of crime into the financial mainstream of the economy. A large amount of cash was suspected to be infused in all the projects, entities, investments by the accused in the multiple entities floated in the name of his wife, daughters and distant relatives. These entities were engaged in the construction of residential projects wherein a large amount of cash was suspected to be infused by the accused. “The cash so collected by distant relatives was invested in properties situated at various locations in Maharashtra,” the plea said.Seeking Pawar’s custody, the ED’s remand plea said that it was necessary to prevent him from tampering with evidence. The plea said that during a search operation at his home on July 29, Pawar initially refused to open the door for over two hours. During this time, he deleted call logs and WhatsApp data from his mobile phone, a clear attempt to destroy crucial evidence, the ED submitted. Referring to Pawar and Reddy, the plea said, “Owing to the power and influence associated with such a position, there exists a grave and reasonable apprehension that accused…may exert undue influence, inducement, threat, or coercion upon builders, architects, liaisoners, and officials of VVCMC,” the remand plea said. The money laundering case pertains to the unauthorised construction of 41 residential and commercial buildings on govt and private land under the jurisdiction of the VVMC, which included land spanning 30 acres designated for sewage treatment and dumping facilities. The 41 buildings were demolished only after a recent court order, resulting in financial and housing losses for those who purchased flats in the structures.
