Adarsh Society scam: CBI to soon examine Vilasrao Deshmukh

NEW DELHI: The CBI, probing the Adarsh Housing Society scam, will soon examine Union minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, who had dealt with files pertaining to the society during his tenure as Maharashtra chief minister.

The agency, which had registered a case against 14 people including former chief minister Ashok Chavan, had on July 31 recorded the statement of Union minister Sushil Kumar Shinde after taking the requisite permission.

Both Shinde and Deshmukh, at present Union minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, had dealt with files and passed proposals pertaining to the 31-storey plush building in south Mumbai, which was allegedly granted permissions after flouting rules and regulations.

"Deshmukh's statement would also be recorded soon. The minister is only a witness as of now," a senior official in CBI said here today.

CBI, which had registered the FIR in the scam in January, is likely to file charge sheet against the 14 accused soon. The Bombay High Court had yesterday directed the agency to expedite its investigations and submit charge sheet at the earliest.

During his tenure as the chief minister, Deshmukh, who was also heading Urban Development Department, gave approval to a proposal made by the society seeking deletion of an adjoining land reserved for BEST and change it to residential type.