MUMBAI: A gift of three acres of prime land in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar to the driver of Shiv Sena MP Sandipan Bhumre will be investigated by the state revenue department. This was stated by revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Thursday. He said his department will probe a complaint that raised doubts over the “gift” to Javed Shaikh by members of the Salar Jung family, whose members served as prime ministers to the Nizam of Hyderabad.
An investigation has been sought by the opposition, which claims that Shaikh is in no way connected to the Salar Jung family. “I have received a complaint sent by some citizens about the land transaction. I have asked the additional chief secretary (revenue) to investigate,” Bawankule told the media on Thursday. “The government has to investigate complaints raised by citizens,” he added.
The market value of the land in question is said to be ₹150 crore. The “gift” of the prime plot came to light after a lawyer from Parbhani lodged a complaint, questioning the grounds on which Shaikh is claiming the land as a gift.
Following his complaint, the Economic Offences Wing of the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar police questioned Shaikh in July. While the probe is still underway, the revenue department too will investigate the matter.
Bhumre, a Sena leader, had stood with deputy chief minister and Sena chief Eknath Shinde, when he split the party in 2022. He was appointed as a minister in the first Mahayuti government, which came to power after the split. In 2024, Bhumre was fielded for the Lok Sabha elections and was the only Mahayuti candidate to win in Marathwada. His son, Sena MLA Vilas Bhumre, said their family has nothing to do with the land transaction, and welcomed an investigation into the matter. He also alleged that his father’s political opponents were behind the move to defame him.
Another Sena leader from the same region, social justice minister Sanjay Shirsat, is also being investigated for allegations that a government auction for a hotel in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar had been manipulated to benefit his son Siddhant. Following allegations by the opposition, Shirsat announced that his son was withdrawing from the auction even though he had secured the winning bid.
The matter didn’t end there. Following demands by the Shiv Sena (UBT) in the recent monsoon session of the state legislature, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis announced a high-level probe into the matter. This has upset Shinde, with a second Sena leader and loyalist from the same region now under investigation.