‘Anil Parab, Aide Aware Land Was in No-construction Coastal Zone’: ED Chargesheet in Sai Resort Case

The Enforcement Directorate filed a chargesheet in the Dapoli Sai Resort case, in which six people were named as accused. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and former cabinet minister Anil Parab was not mentioned as an accused while his alleged aide Sadanand Kadam was named in the chargesheet.

According to the chargesheet, which traces the dealings behind an acre of land in Dapoli, Parab and Kadam were well aware of the fact that construction could not take place on this piece of land as it was in a coastal regulation zone (CRZ). But despite this information, the two liaised for permissions for construction work; Kadam managed all the liasoning work for the deal, the chargesheet added.

The 4,500-page chargesheet, exclusively accessed by CNN-News18, has the statements of 13 witnesses and was filed before the special PMLA court on Monday. The land in question was initially a part of CRZ-III, which meant construction could not be allowed on it. The chargesheet stated that the architect, who was approached to build a bungalow on this land, had told Kadam and Parab that the land is in a CRZ.

Parab’s statement in the case has been recorded, but he has not been mentioned as an accused. Officials said the investigation was still on and, if required, the agency will file a supplementary chargesheet.

“After the purchase of said land from (Shri) Vibhas Sathe on 02.05.2017 (May 2, 2017), he (Anil Parab) asked his friend (Shri) Sadanand Kadam to obtain necessary permissions for converting said land use from agricultural to non-agricultural and for constructing a bungalow on said land,” read the statement of Parab in the ED chargesheet.

After the land was registered, Parab sold it to Kadam in December 2020, a resort was constructed on it at a cost of Rs 5 crore to Rs 6 crore (approx), the chargesheet said. Through an agreement in 2017, where Parab had agreed to sell the land to Kadam, the construction plan of the four-bedroom bungalow was changed to a 14-room resort, it added.

The chargesheet further stated that the application to convert the land for non-agricultural use was made by Sathe, the original owner, after the deal with Parab became final. The deal for 42 ghuntas of land was finalised for Rs 1.80 crore, of which Rs 80 lakh was paid in cash to suppress the value of the land and the remaining amount was paid through a bank transfer, it added.

“On instructions of Parab, Kadam in connivance with Depolkar made an application to SDO Dapoli forging the signature of Sathe to convert land from agricultural to non-agricultural for construction of twin bungalows. Kadam, on behalf of Parab, put pressure and used his influence to obtain permission to convert land use,” read the chargesheet.

The chargesheet concludes that considering Parab was the guardian minister of Raigad during the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, he had built the Sai Resort NX by investing his unaccounted money in cash in violation of CRZ-III rules.

“Accused Sadanand Kadam played a crucial role since the purchase of agricultural land, measuring 42.14 gunta at Murud, tehsil Dapoli, Ratnagiri, Maharashtra and throughout the construction over the said land. Investigation revealed that being a good friend and business associate of Anil Parab, Sadanand Kadam acted on his behalf, in identifying as well as negotiating the sale of the said land. This fact is evident from the statements of (Shri) Anil Parab, (Shri) Vibhas Sathe and Vinod Depolkar. Even accused Sadanand Kadam has admitted the above fact in his statement recorded u/s 50 of PML Act, us,” read the chargesheet.

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