Fadnavis wades in, slams Uddhav sarkar on Wadhawans' Covid lockdown jaunt to Mahabaleshwar

BJP leader and former Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday questioned Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra government after 23 people from Wadhawan family, key members are out on bail in connection with alleged DHFL scam, were allowed to flout Covid lockdown, with alleged permission of a top Maharashtra bureaucrat. 

Taking to Twitter, Fadnavis questioned how Wadhawan family was allowed to spend holidays in Mahabaleshwar despite lockdown and also hinted that orders could have come from government due to which senior IPS officer and principal secretary of Home Department Amitabh Gupta allowed family to travel to Mahabaleshwar. top official has since been put on compulsory leave pending inquiry, by Maharashtra government.

In ar tweet, Fadnavis questioned Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh asking m to explain why were y allowed to travel to Mahabaleshwar.

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How incident came to light?

Amid 21-day nationwide lockdown imposed till April 14, Satara Superintendent of Police (SP) on Thursday confirmed that Wadhawan's family, promoters of RKW and DHFL, allegedly violated lockdown. Satara's SP informed Republic Media Network that 23 members of Wadhawan family traveled to Mahabaleshwar on Thursday. He added that locals flagged authorities on ir arrival and that an investigation has been ordered on how y mand to reach Mahabaleshwar.

This comes at a time when state is grappling with Coronavirus and has recorded highest number of COVID-19 positive cases (1324 cases) as compared to rest of states. Maharashtra also recorded an alarming spike of 229 cases, highest in a single day, with a total of 97 deaths as of April 9. Taking tice of violation, Maharashtra government sent special Principal Secretary Amitabh Gupta (who had sanctioned guarantee letter) on compulsory leave starting Friday. Meanwhile, an FIR has been registered against DHFL promoters and ir families in Satara district's Wai.

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