- Manikrao Kokate's conviction upheld for forging documents to get government flats in Nashik
- He and brother Vijay proved to own 25 acres, disproving their landless claims
- A gun license application revealed Kokate employed many laborers, contradicting poverty claims
A gun license application overturned his poverty claims, ownership of 25 acres of agricultural land disproved his claims of being landless, and proof that documents to obtain government flats were forged together led a court to uphold Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) minister Manikrao Kokate's conviction and two-year jail term in a 1995 case.
'Rummy' minister Kokate then resigned from the state Cabinet, becoming the second from the Ajit Pawar-led party to resign from ministership. The MLA and his brother Vijay Kokate were convicted for submitting forged documents to prove they were poor and landless to secure four government flats in Nashik under the economically weaker sections (EWS) quota.
The case dates back to 1989 and 1994, when a housing scheme reserved for the EWS with an annual income limit of Rs 30,000 was announced and Manikrao Kokate applied for a flat.
The Kokate brothers claimed they were extremely poor and landless to secure the flats in question. A 1994 revolver license application produced in court, on the other hand, stated that he employed 40 to 50 labourers and paid each of them Rs 9,000 to 10,000 in wages every week. This amounts to around at least Rs 3.6 lakh in wages every week
A probe against the brothers found that their family owned 25 acres of fertile agricultural land in a Maharashtra village. Further, they were also members of the Kopargaon Cooperative Sugar Factory and were earning lakhs of rupees every year by supplying sugarcane, making them prosperous farmers.
Lastly, income certificates, affidavits, and other government documents submitted to obtain the flats were found to be completely forged. The court ruled that this was not merely a mistake, but a deliberate fraud committed against the government.
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.
Manikrao Kokate has moved the Bombay High Court against the Nashik court order and the hearing on his plea will take place on Friday.
During the monsoon session of the Maharashtra legislature in Mumbai, a video of Manikrao Kokate purportedly playing a game of rummy on his mobile phone while proceedings were underway had gone viral, drawing criticism from opposition members.
