Maharashtra: Two Former NCP Ministers, One Sitting Shiv Sena MLA Among 48 Persons Convicted In Multi-Crore Housing Scam

48 individuals, including two former NCP ministers, Suresh Jain and Gulabrao Deokar, have been convicted by a Dhule special court for their role in a multi-crore housing scam in Jalgaon, reports The Times of India.

Jain has been given a seven year prison sentence and has also been fined Rs 100 crore, while Deokar has been given a prison sentence of five years and has been ordered to pay Rs 5 lakh. A number of other high profile individuals have also been convicted in the case, including three mayors, a chief officer of the Jalgaon Municipal Council (JMC) and a sitting MLA Chandrakant Sonawane from the Shiv Sena.

Sonawane has received a prison sentence of five years and has been ordered to pay Rs 5 lakh as fine. Two builders have also been convicted in the case and each of them has received jail terms of seven years along with a Rs 40 crore fine.

The case relates to a 1999 tender to build 11,424 affordable tenements for slumdwellers; Jain coordinated with high-placed officials and politicians to ensure that only builders who were connected to him got the tender.