State cooperative minister Atul Save has sought from the district deputy registrar of societies a detailed report of the alleged irregularities in the granting of loans by Latur-based co-operative banks, including the District Central Co-operative (DCC) Bank, to Ritesh and Genelia Deshmukh. The report is to be submitted within a fortnight.
BJP Latur city district unit president Gurunath Mage last month made allegations of irregularities and favouritism in the allotment of more than 62 acres of MIDC land and bank loans of Rs. 120 crore to the actor couple. Prior to the inquiry ordered by Save, the state had ordered an inquiry into the allegations of sanctioning a large MIDC plot to the Deshmukhs out of turn. As per the complaint, the company, Desh Agro Pvt. Ltd., with a capital of Rs. 7.50 crore, was registered on March 23, 2021, and it made an application seeking land from MIDC on April 5, 2021. The MIDC held meetings in this regard on April 9 and 15, and an industrial plot measuring 2,52,726 sq. metres (over 62 acres) was allotted.
Ritesh and Genelia had earlier refuted the allegations and said, the allocation was in accordance with existing rules. They added that the company intended to use the land to support agricultural industries to benefit farmers cultivating soyabean.