Two days after rebel Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar extended support to the BP to form government in Maharashtra, the state anti-corruption bureau has closed investigations into nine cases linked to the Rs 70,000 crore irrigation scam in which Ajit is an accused.
In a dramatic turn of events on Saturday morning, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis took oath as the chief minister and Ajit as the deputy chief minister even as the latter's party was holding hectic parleys with both the Shiv Sena and the Congress to form a coalition government in the state.
"We are investigating around 3,000 tenders in irrigation-related complaints. These are routine inquiries which are closed and all ongoing investigations are continuing as they were earlier," senior ACB officer Parambir Singh told news agency ANI.
He said none of the cases that were closed was related to Ajit.
The ACB's clarification came after Congress claimed Ajit was "exonerated" in lieu of his support to the BJP in forming a government two days ago.
It may be noted that Fadnavis, soon after taking over the chief minister's post in 2014, had sanctioned an investigation into Ajit's alleged role in the irrigation scam.
