Maharashtra lawmaker and Nationalist Congress Party leader Manikrao Kokate and his brother Vijay were found guilty of scheming to grab four government flats – in the Nirmam View complex in Nashik's posh College Road area – by falsely claiming to be from economically weaker sections. Carried out between 1989 and 1994, the con hinged on the brothers proving their annual income was less than Rs 30,000, which was one of the key criteria for the allocation of flats.
On October 13, 1995, a complaint was filed at the police station in Sarkarwada and, as the cops investigated, the entire fraud came to light. But how did this happen? How did the brothers cheat the government and what evidence exposed them?
Allocation was made under a 10 per cent quota in a state-sponsored scheme.
To appear eligible, the Kokates submitted an affidavit claiming they do not own any residential property and their annual income is less than Rs. 30,000. But that lie was quickly uncovered.
Undone, by a gun
In a 1994 application – for a gun license – Manikrao Kokate claimed he employed 40 to 50 manual labourers and paid them between 9,000 to 10,000 rupees in wages every week.
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That amounts to a minimum of Rs 3.6 lakh every week, an astronomical sum compared to the claimed annual income of only Rs 30,000. This became crucial evidence in court, proving that a person distributing such a large amount in wages could not possibly be economically weak.
Owners of 25 acres
The investigation also revealed the Kokate family owns 25 acres of fertile agricultural land.
When faced with this, the brothers claimed the land was joint property but evidence showed they were also members of a sugar cooperative and earned a substantial income by supplying sugarcane. They are, in truth, prosperous farmers.
Also, the affidavits, income certificates, and other documents submitted to obtain the flats were found to be forged and misleading, proving the government had been defrauded.
Caught and found guilty of cheating, Manikrao Kokate – who made headlines this year after he was caught playing rummy, a card game, on his mobile phone in the Assembly – tendered his registration Thursday as the state's Sports Minister.
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This was after a Nashik court on Wednesday upheld his conviction by a lower court. The ex-minister has approached the Bombay High Court to appeal the conviction and has checked himself into a Mumbai hospital, meanwhile, to escape arrest.
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