Maharashtra minister Manikrao Kokate sentenced to 2 years in jail for 30-year-old fraud case

Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Manikrao Kokate has been sentenced to two years in prison by a Nashik district court for his involvement in a 30-year-old document tampering and fraud case. The conviction stems from allegations that Kokate and his brother, Sunil Kokate, fraudulently obtained two flats under the Chief Minister's quota in the Nirman View apartment.

The Nasik Court also fined Manikrao Kokate ₹50,000. His brother Sunil Kokate was also convicted in the case registered in 1995.

The case was initiated by former minister Tukaram Dighole, who accused the Kokate brothers of forging documents to secure these benefits unlawfully.

The Kokate siblings had obtained two flats on College Road in Yeolakar Mala here under the chief minister's 10 per cent discretionary quota after claiming they did not own flats and belonged to the low-income group (LIG).

On Thursday, the two brothers were convicted by the Nashik district and sessions court, while the two others named in the FIR were acquitted. Minister Kokate, who was present in court, told reporters, “I have obtained bail in the case and will file an appeal against the order.”

Following the verdict by the Nasik court, Manikrao Kokate was granted bail and has expressed his intention to appeal the decision.

‘Even beggars don't accept one rupee in alms’

The sentencing adds to the scrutiny surrounding NCP MLA from Nashik Manikrao Kokate, particularly in light of recent controversies regarding the implementation of the Re 1 crop insurance scheme for farmers.

On Friday, 15 February, Manikrao Kokate had said, “Even beggars don't accept one rupee in alms, but govt is giving crop insurance for this sum and this too is being misused”.

Kokate was answering a query on the Re 1 crop insurance scheme after a meeting in Amravati.

Under this Re 1 crop insurance scheme, irregularities have surfaced, with reports indicating that over 400,000 crop insurance applications were rejected due to fraudulent claims.

Manikrao Kokate has acknowledged these issues, noting that some applicants misrepresented non-agricultural lands as farmland to claim insurance benefits. Despite these challenges, he has maintained that no financial loss occurred since funds were not transferred for bogus applications.

Kokate, however, clarified there was no plan to discontinue the scheme, but changes would be made to plug loopholes. “Govt rejected 4 lakh insurance claim applications. These may have been turned down because of erroneous entries. The scheme has been beneficial, but it was turned into a scam by certain elements.”