In the sprawling metropolis of Mumbai, Anil Desai, a luminary within the Shiv Sena (UBT), finds himself summoned by the discerning Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police. A mandate has been issued, compelling Desai to partake in an inquisition slated for March 5. This summons stems from the labyrinthine allegations put forth by the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) faction. Their contention asserts that despite the Election Commission’s recognition of the Shinde faction as the authentic Shiv Sena, funds from the party coffers were surreptitiously withdrawn by the Uddhav Thackeray faction, as elucidated by the Mumbai police.
The fissure within the Shiv Sena, acknowledged by the Election Commission in February 2023, traces its origins to a seismic split in June of the preceding year. Eknath Shinde, erstwhile a minister in the Uddhav Thackeray cabinet, orchestrated a political upheaval within the party’s ranks. This maneuver culminated in an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), ultimately catapulting Shinde into the coveted position of Chief Minister.
The probing tentacles of the EOW delve into the intricacies of the fund withdrawal saga, meticulously unraveling the web to ascertain both the nature of the withdrawals and the identities behind them. The agency, armed with the details procured from the relevant banking authority, navigates the labyrinth of financial intricacies.
Balaji Kinikar, the custodian of the coffers for the Shiv Sena under Eknath Shinde’s aegis, undertook a pivotal initiative. On January 30, he sought an audience with Mumbai’s Commissioner of Police, Vivek Phansalkar. In a written dossier, Kinikar laid bare allegations of fraud and forgery against officials affiliated with the Shiv Sena (UBT). The crux of his accusations revolves around the purported misuse of PAN and TAN details by the rival faction. He contends that this misuse extends to the fraudulent submission of TDS and income tax returns on behalf of the party, a claim that injects a layer of complexity into the already convoluted narrative.