MLA Suresh Jain arrested in housing scam

Jalgaon MLA and former Maharashtra minister, Suresh Jain, has been arrested in connection with the 2006 Gharkul Housing Scheme scam. Jain was remanded to police custody for seven days on Sunday.

Jain was on his way to Indore on Saturday night with his secretary when he was intercepted near the Dharangaon railway gate by Jalgon police and taken into custody. He was brought to the Jalgaon police station where a case was filed against him.
The infamous housing scam dates back to 1996 when it was proposed in the then municipal council.

It was decided that the scheme of 11,000 houses for the poor in different parts of Jalgoan will be built on loan taken from HUDCO. Without any resolution, the project was initiated on one private land, one municipal land and four lands belonging to the govt.
The first disbursement of funds of Rs11.56 crore was made as ‘mobilisation of advance’ to Khandesh builders. An enquiry revealed that the fund was then transferred to three companies which were controlled by Jain. In the meantime, some houses were built and most of them left half-constructed.

Former municipal commissioner of Jalgaon, Pravin Gedam, had registered a complaint in this connection in 2006.

Police officer Ishu Sindhu was given the charge of the probe.
So far, four persons, including former mayor of Jalgaon, Pradip Raisoni, director of Khandesh Builders Major, Nana Wani, one Raja Mayoor and the former chief officer of Jalgaon Municipal Council, PD Kale, have been arrested in January in this connection and are presently in Jalgaon jail.

When Jain was produced in the court, he refused to take a lawyer and pleaded his case on his own. He alleged that Sindhu had called him for enquiry into the matter and he had also given his statement. However, during the enquiry, Sindhu asked for a bribe of Rs1 crore which he Jain refused.

Ishu Sindhu, who himself has defended the case in the court right from the beginning, has stated that this is a Rs185-crore scam and will amount to making a debt of Rs40,000 on every citizen of Jalgaon.

Meanwhile, veteran Gandhian, Anna Hazare, who had taken up the cudgels against Jain, termed this as a victory of truth. Hazare had embarked upon a major agitation against Jain and others accusing them of corrupt practices.

 Jain's arrest came after police acquired some case-related documents from the Housing and Urban Development Corporation Limited (HUDCO) office in Mumbai on Friday.