Jalgaon: Land grab case filed against ex-minister Eknath Khadse, daughter Sharda

Nashik: The Bodwad police in Jalgaon district late on Sunday night registered an FIR based on a complaint by Bhusawal resident Chamelibai Tukaram Tayde (82), who has accused former minister Eknath Khadse and his daughter Sharda and the then officials and employees of the sub-registrar's office in Bodwad of collusion to grab her land in 2002 on the pretext of setting up a sugar factory.Tayde said in her complaint that the Khadses executed a sale deed for the 2.55 hectare of land located at Gat No. 122, Manpur Shivar in Bhusawal taluka, under the name "Tapi Purna Sugar and Allied Industries Limited."The complainant alleged that between 2002 and 2025, Khadse used his political influence, colluded with officials at the sub-registrar's office in Bodwad, tampered with original govt documents, and forged a new sale deed in the name of his daughter Sharda to usurp the land, which the complainant had inherited as part of a Mahar Watan gift.When contacted by TOI, Khadse refuted all these charges. "The allegations are politically motivated. The land was classified as Class 1 (i.e. unalienated land held in perpetuity by an occupant with full rights, including the unrestricted freedom to sell, gift, or mortgage without govt permission. Often ancestral, it is considered freehold) at the time of transactions," he said.Khadse said the land was bought from a person named Sudhakar Patil when Sharda Khadse was planning to raise an ‘ethanol'-producing company and not a sugar factory. "Given the policies of the PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led govt, my daughter was planning for an ethanol project for which the land was bought in her name. Since my name does not appear in the sale deed, how can I be a party to it," the former minister questioned.Khadse even underlined that the issue was raised in the State Assembly where the revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule had clearly stated that the land was a free hold. "I will now approach the high court for quashing this FIR and then file private complaints against all the officers involved," he said.The complaint has been lodged for offences under section 336 (2), forgery involving creating false documents, 318 (4) - cheating of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and also under relevant sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.The complainant has claimed that the land is classified as "Mahar Vatan" (Inam) land - or Class 2 that cannot be transferred to individuals until govt nod is obtained.According to the sub-divisional police officer Anil Badgujar, "The complainant has alleged that the land was bought by Khadses under the garb to establish the sugar factory on their land, promising compensation and employment for family members. Relying on Khadse's political stature, the family, who belong to the Mahar community, agreed to the proposal."The matter came to light in 2025 when the family allegedly discovered that no sugar factory had been built. Instead, the ownership of the land had been transferred to the name of Sharda Eknathrao Khadse. The complainant alleged that Khadse used his political influence to collude with officials at the sub-registrar's office in Bodwad.