Mumbai: Former Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) Chief Radheshyam Mopalwar has been reinstated to the same post after a clean chit from the probe committee.
A three-member panel, headed by former Chief Secretary Johny Joseph, probing the charges of corruption against Mopalwar gave him a clean chit and submitted its report to the
government.
On Tuesday, the government issued an order for reinstating Mopalwar as Managing Director of MSRDC.
Mopalwar was sent on leave from August 3. During his absence of 145 days, Bhushan Gagrani, Managing Director of CIDCO was holding additional charge as MSRDC chief. Johny Joseph, chief of the panel, while speaking to Sakal Times declined to comment on the report’s contents, but said he had submitted the report to the government.
“I am in Cochin and I don’t know the latest development. As chief of the panel, I went through all the evidence and prepared a report, that has been submitted to the government,” he said. According to sources, the charges could not be proved.
In August, a clip was circulated on media, in which Mopalwar allegedly asked Rs 4 crore for a 15,000 sq ft plot in Borivli.
Leader of the opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan and NCP leader Ajit Pawar and Dhananjay Munde demanded a high-level probe against Mopalwar.
The issue was discussed in the monsoon session of the Legislative Assembly, where the opposition demanded a probe and suspension of Mopalwar as chief of Samruddhi Corridor, the chief minister’s flagship project.
Taking note of the opposition’s demands, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis sent Mopalwar on leave. On August 21, a committee, headed by Joseph was set up. Additional Commissioner of Police (Protection and Security) RD Shinde and DCP Parag Manere were the panel’s other members.
After examining the authenticity of CDs and voice samples recorded in the clip, it was found that the voice did not match Mopalwar’s. The committee concluded that Mopalwar was not involved in the Borivli land deal.
According to the forensic laboratory’s report, the CDs were doctored and it could not be established that it was Mopalwar’s voice.
On the basis of the laboratories’ report, the committee felt there was no substance to the allegations, as in the particular period, Mopalwar was divisional commissioner of the Konkan region, and it was not linked to his assignment with the MSRDC.