The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai police summoned Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anil Desai and asked him to appear for questioning on March 5. The summons were issued regarding the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) allegation that the Uddhav Thackeray faction withdrew party funds even after the Election Commission recognised the Shinde faction as the real Shiv Sena, said Mumbai police.
The Election Commission recognised the Shinde faction as the real Shiv Sena in February 2023. The Shiv Sena split in June last year after Eknath Shinde, who was then a minister in the Uddhav Thackeray cabinet, splintered a coup within the ranks of the party and formed an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), securing the Chief Minister's post for himself.
The EOW is probing the details of the fund withdrawal and who withdrew them. The agency also received details of the withdrawal from the bank officer concerned. Balaji Kinikar, Treasurer of Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, met Mumbai Commissioner of Police Vivek Phansalkar and filed a written complaint of fraud and forgery against Shiv Sena (UBT) officials on January 30. He claimed that the rival faction was misusing PAN and TAN details and fraudulently filing TDS and income tax returns of the party.
(With inputs from ANI)
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