Yes Bank, DHFL fraud: IPS officer sent on compulsory leave, FIR against Wadhawan family for holidaying in Mahabaleshwar breaking lockdown

Mumbai/Satara, April 10, 2020: Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said that Home department Principal Secretary (Special) Amitabh Gupta has been sent on compulsory leave with immediate effect, and further action will be taken against him. An FIR has been registered against the 23 people of Wadhawan family in Mahabaleshwar and they have been kept in a quarantine facility.

It was Gupta who gave a letter to the Wadhawan family to visit Mahabaleshwar from Khandala. Former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had sought a response from Home Minister Anil Deshmukh by tweeting how 23 people from the Wadhawan family got permission to visit Mahabaleshwar during the lockdown.

The lockdown has been implemented throughout the country to prevent the growing cases of coronavirus. Maharashtra has the highest number of corona cases reported in the country. So far 1364 people have been found infected with the disease in the state.

Meanwhile, an FIR was registered yesterday by Satara Police against 25 persons including Wadhawan family members for breaking the lockdown and holidaying at a farmhouse in Mahabaleshwar in Satara district of Maharashtra.

According to the information, 23 people of this family were in a farmhouse there, while Pune and Satara districts have been sealed due to Coronavirus. Despite this, the people of the Wadhawan family drove in five cars from Khandala to Mahabaleshwar. Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan are accused in Yes Bank and DHFL fraud case.

The surprising thing is that it was on the recommendation of the Principal Secretary of the Government of Maharashtra, Amitabh Gupta, that five cars of the Wadhawan family were approved to travel from Khandala to Mahabaleshwar. A letter has also been found in the case in which Amitabh Gupta has described Wadhawan as his “family friend”.

Central Agencies, CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) & ED (Enforcement Directorate) have contacted Maharashtra Police (Satara) regarding Wadhavan family of DHFL group and their ongoing cases in connection with Yes Bank matter.

The ED had registered a case against Yes Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor, the Wadhawan brothers, RKW Developers, and Doit Urban Ventures Ltd, a company owned by daughters of Kapoor on March 7. RKW is another company controlled by DHFL promoters.

Kapoor, his family members, and others are accused of laundering Rs 4,300 crore by receiving alleged kickbacks in lieu of extending sizeable loans to big borrowers through the bank. The loans later turned non-performing assets (NPA).