Blow for Congress as ex-Minister is jailed for bank scam
The Hindu
Former Maharashtra Minister and Congress MLA Sunil Kedar sentenced to 5 years in prison for misappropriation of money from NDCCB.
A court in Nagpur has imprisoned former Maharashtra Minister and Congress MLA Sunil Kedar for five years. The case relates to misappropriation of money belonging to farmers from the Nagpur District Central Cooperative Bank (NDCCB).
Besides Mr. Kedar, the court held five others, including the then general manager Ashok Choudhary, guilty in the two-decade-old case which dates back to 2001-2002 when the Congressman was chairman of the NDCCB.
Mr. Kedar, a five-term MLA from Saoner Assembly constituency in Nagpur, was charged under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 409 (criminal breach of trust by a public servant), 120B (criminal conspiracy), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and other sections.
According to sources, he faces imminent arrest if his bail is rejected.
According to the prosecution, the NDCCB lost ₹125 crores placed in government securities in 2002 because rules were flouted while investing through Home Trade Securities, an investment firm.
The judgement casts a shadow on Mr. Kedar’s future as a legislator. It is also a major blow for the Congress in Maharashtra ahead of the 2024 elections, given that Mr. Kedar is a stalwart party face in Vidarbha – the region where the Congress’ strength in the State is concentrated.
In August 2021, former Congressman MLA from Nagpur Ashish Deshmukh (now with the ruling BJP), had demanded action against Mr. Kedar, who was the Dairy and Animal Husbandry Minister in the previous Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.
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