Activist Exposes Multi-Crore Land Deal in Koregaon Park

Dinkar Kotkar, an activist and president of the Chhava Kamgar Union, had filed a complaint about the multi-crore land deal involving Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s son Parth in June this year. He obtained documents that revealed only Rs 500 in stamp duty had been paid, instead of the expected Rs 21 crore. Kotkar, who is involved in social work and the real estate business, realized the discrepancy and filed a complaint with the Joint District Registrar (JDR) Santosh Hingane’s office. However, he received no updates on any action taken.

Hingane confirmed to The Indian Express that the complaint had been received. “The JDR initiated a probe following the receipt of the complaint and issued two notices to Sheetal Tejwani, who holds the power of attorney of the Mahar Watan land on behalf of the original 272 Watandars,” said Hingane.

Kotkar shared a copy of the complaint filed on June 5, which carries a received stamp from the JDR office clerk. He explained, “I am into social work and frequently receive such documents. I got the Index II (document generated by the Sub-Registrar Office summarizing the registration of property-related documents) of the Koregaon Park land, and being in the business of real estate, I realized that a deal of Rs 300 crore should have a stamp duty of Rs 21 crore. But only Rs 500 stamp duty has been paid. I already knew that survey number 88 is Mahar Watan land.”

Kotkar mentioned that he had been approached two years ago to add the names of the original owners to the land but could not proceed with the task. He was already aware of the nature of the land. The activist stated he was not aware that Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s son Parth was linked to the land deal, as the document does not contain his name. The transaction took place between Sheetal Tejwani, who holds the power of attorney on behalf of the 272 original owners of the Mahar Watan land, and Digvijay Amarsinh Patil, director of Amadea Enterprises LLP, of which Parth Pawar is also a director.

Kotkar said he received the document around May 25, a few days after it was made, and filed a complaint at the JDR office on June 5. “I even wrote a reminder letter when I got no response on the complaint. Some time later, a man claiming to be Parth Pawar’s assistant accosted me and threatened me to withdraw the complaint and not get involved in the matter,” he said.

Kotkar has filed 10-15 complaints regarding land matters to the registration office, but only one has resulted in an investigation and the payment of the duty. “I have not been informed about action taken on any other complaint I have filed so far,” he said.

Over the past two days, FIRs have been filed against Tejwani, Patil, and government officials who facilitated the Koregaon Park land deal. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar announced that the deal now stands cancelled.