Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday sacked an Indian Administrative Service officer for allegedly amassing Rs 800 crore in disproportionate assets, PTI reported. Radheshyam Mopalwar was removed as managing director of Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation after audio clips of him purportedly asking for bribe for fixing a deal for a plot in Mumbai was leaked.
Mopalwar will remain suspended till the inquiry against him is over, Fadnavis said. “There is no direct evidence against Mopalwar,” the chief minister said, adding that the inquiry in the matter will be completed within a month.
In the audio clip, Mopalwar can be heard demanding Rs 4 crore to get a Rs 15,000 crore housing project cleared in the Mantralaya. The phone conversation was purportedly between Mopalwar and a real estate agent.
The audio clip was first aired by a local Marathi channel, following which the Opposition demanded his removal in the Maharashtra Assembly. The clips have been sent for a forensic examination.
Fadnavis on tried to turn the tables at the Opposition saying the projects discussed in the clip dates back to the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party alliance-led government in the state. “It was during your tenure that he was given a plum posting,” Fadnavis said, according to IANS.
The IAS officer was currently overseeing the Rs 46,000-crore Mumbai-Nagpur Super Communication Expressway. Fadnavis stressed that the phone conversation had nothing to do with the expressway project.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!