Saamana's Scathing Attack: Is Eknath Shinde Maharashtra's Pablo Escobar?

The Thackeray camp in the party mouthpiece Saamana editorial has alleged that there is a growing menace of drug mafias, land mafias, and gang wars in Pune and Satara -- districts neighbouring each other and associated with Ajit Pawar and Eknath Shinde, respectively.

The editorial cited recent major drug busts wherein the police seized cocaine worth Rs 150 crore from a shed in Savri village, Satara. Shortly after, another haul of cocaine worth Rs 75 crore was seized in Panchgani.

These incidents suggest Satara is turning into a "capital of cocaine", the editorial alleged.

The editorial also alleged a direct link between the contraband and Eknath Shinde's family, saying that the shed in Savri village where the Rs 150 crore cocaine haul was found reportedly belongs to Prakash Shinde, the brother of Deputy CM Eknath Shinde.

"The 'Tejayash' resort, also owned by Prakash Shinde, is located adjacent to this shed. DCM Eknath Shinde's helicopter lands in the nearby Dare village 5-10 times a month, purportedly for farming," it added.

However, the editorial sarcastically questioned the nature of this "farming," asking why ordinary farmers are forced to commit suicide while the Shinde family's "farming" seemingly yields immense wealth, alleging a "cocaine factory" was found in their backyard.

It has accused the administration of shielding the high-profile suspects.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena further alleged that the Deputy Chief Minister's office made repeated calls to Satara Superintendent of Police (SP) Tushar Doshi to prevent Prakash Shinde's name from appearing in the FIR. While the Mumbai Crime Branch initiated the raid, the Satara police attempted to create obstacles, the editorial alleged. It claimed that Doshi was "rewarded" with the Satara post for his role in the lathi-charge against Maratha protesters in Antarwali.

The editorial has drawn a parallel to the Mundhwa land scam, alleging that just as Ajit Pawar's son Parth was shielded from the law, Prakash Shinde is now being protected by the Home Ministry.

The Thackeray camp strongly criticised the silence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on the issue. It mentioned that Vishal More, an office-bearer of Ajit Pawar's party in Pune, has been arrested in connection with the racket. It further claimed that suspicious workers from West Bengal, possibly Bangladeshi infiltrators, were brought in to work at the Satara drug factory.

Echoing a statement by Congress President Harshwardhan Sapkal, the editorial asked, "Is Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde the state's Pablo Escobar?" referring to the infamous drug lord who used narco-terrorism to fund political power in Colombia. The Thackeray camp warned that the state is spiralling into an "Udta Punjab" situation due to the unchecked spread of narcotics.

- IANS