The General Administration Department (GAD) has ordered action after allegations surfaced regarding large scale financial irregularities in Maharashtra’s DGIPR department. The issue came to light following investigative reporting that highlighted alleged unauthorised approvals and missing files linked to crore level proposals. RTI based documents running into thousands of pages have reportedly been submitted to the Marine Drive Police Station. GAD has now directed DGIPR to gather information on vanished records and initiate criminal proceedings if required. The case may invite scrutiny from state and central investigative agencies depending on findings.

GAD Rudely Shaken by Sprouts News Strike – Files of Crores From DGIPR Vanish

Corruption involving crores of rupees occurred in the Government of Maharashtra’s Information and Public Relations (DGIPR) department. This corruption was carried out by Ajay Ambekar, former Director. This information was exposed by SPROUTS in the July 27 edition. After that, the General Administration Department (GAD), which had pretended to be sleeping, was rudely aroused from its slumber.

The said corruption occurred during the reign of the Shiv Sena-BJP in Maharashtra. Devendra Fadnavis was the Chief Minister during that period. He was the Minister in charge of the Information and Public Relations department. Hence, the signatures of Fadnavis and the Director General were mandatory to sanction any proposal of this department. However, keeping them in the dark, Ambekar prepared proposals worth several crores and issued work orders for those works. Not only that, he siphoned off this money through an agency. Notably, he did not seek the sanction of the then CM, Fadnavis, on most of these files.

Ambekar virtually robbed the DGIPR department during the CM’s tenure. He was proficient in preparing fake files, getting proposals worth crores sanctioned without the CM’s permission, siphoning money by making himself a shadow partner in the agency, and preparing fake certificates for works not done.

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Ambekar amassed huge black money and benami properties through corrupt means. The Sprouts Investigation Team has sourced complete information about this through the Right to Information Act. Three thousand pages of these very significant documents have been handed over to the Marine Drive Police Station.

The strike by Sprouts has rudely woken the department, which was pretending to sleep, from its slumber. The GAD has ordered the DGIPR department to collect information about these missing files and to lodge a criminal case at the Marine Drive Police Station.

“Ambekar has amassed wealth worth crores and is also suspected of having purchased benami property abroad. All these matters should be investigated by the State and Central investigation agencies, and he should be arrested immediately,”
– Vikas Thakre, MLA