ED rattled as President directs probe
- Quaid Najmi
- Jul 6, 2025
- 3 min read
Mumbai/Pune: In what is said to be unprecedented, President of India has transferred to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) a whistle-blower’s complaint to probe alleged massive scams in a posh Pune cooperative housing society (CHS) involving some Managing Committee Members, in tandem with CHS Department’s officials and outsiders.
The move that has shaken the ED brass, came after five years’ efforts by anti-corruption crusader, Kashyap M. Vyas, 69, who exposed a series of glaring irregularities allegedly perpetrated at the Ganga Platino PQR at Kharadi in Pune, in connivance with government officials, willy-nilly designed to help the builder.
Vyas has claimed the misdoings include: an alleged money-laundering scam, encroachments, illegal constructions, corruption of officials, flouting sanctioned building plans, discarding the National Building Code, and other shortcomings that may have cheated the government of potential revenue worth scores of crores rupees, though the exact figures could emerge after a forensic audit of the Society.
“Instead of taking corrective measures, the CHS Managing Committee is hounding me with fake allegations, threats, pressurizing me to shut up, protect the scamsters and department officials who have defrauded the government,” an irate Vyas told 'The Perfect Voice'.
The 17-storied CHS building has 6 shops, 208 flats of around 1200-1300 sq-feet, currently estimated to be worth around Rs. 2.25-2.75 crore.
When contacted, the Ganga Platino PQR CHS Chairman Sagar Mane told 'The Perfect Voice' he was unaware of any such developments, but revealed the Deputy Registrar of Societies conducted three audits of the society and reportedly issued “a clean chit”.
In the early days of his crusade, Vyas apprised the corruption matter to ex-union minister of housing and urban affairs Hardeep Singh Puri (in April 2019) and the builder’s purported ‘dark deeds’, seeking immediate action.
He said that at least 60 other Society members raised similar grievances that concerned the Pune Municipal Corporation, Cooperative Department headed by Union Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah, plus statutory environmental and urban planning laws.
At Puri’s behest, the PMC top officials called Vyas and 25 society members and heard them out, promised action within 3-4 weeks, slapped a show-cause notice to the builder, Subhash Goel and other steps -- but nothing moved forward thereafter.
Undeterred, Vyas moved various state and central authorities and investigation agencies, including the President, providing hard evidence like documents, official records, sting-audios, etc. demanding that all the culprits should be booked under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Prevention of Money Laundering Act and Prevention of Corruption Act.
“An independent probe team should be appointed from outside Maharashtra to avoid local collusion or influence. There are a host of violations/irregularities/frauds, which need proper investigation,” demanded Vyas.
He listed a few of them, including illegal formation of the Ganga Platino PWR CHS; 12 illegal penthouses built using free FSI of the society terraces of around 6,500-700 sqft; violations of fire safety, building code and MRTP Act; double/multiple parking allotted to certain members; fire-fighting systems concealed by illegal grills endangering lives; ground-floor public open spaces grabbed by shop-owners, and more.
Apprehending threats to life, Vyas has urged the government to provide full security to his family, even as the ED has initiated the process to launch a preliminary probe.
Govt officials red-flagged Pune CHS’ affairs
In June 2025, a Maharashtra government’s Senior Nodal Grievance Redressal Officer Dilip Deshpande opined that Kashyap Vyas’ matter is related to the Centre.
“He acknowledged that this massive corruption scam is beyond the state’s purview, plus either his inability or unwillingness to resolve the issue, but unwittingly justifying the jurisdiction of the central agencies like the ED, CBI, IT or CAG,” said Vyas.
Similarly, in May, a top Central official said that Vyas’ grievances are “multi-jurisdictional’, involving serious criminal, financial, human rights and governance issues”, as he sought judicial intervention after submitting overwhelming evidence in public interest.
Maharashtra has more than 1.25 lakh CHSs, with big and small scams perpetrated in thousands of societies that house more than five crore members.
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