BARWANI: Police in Madhya Pradesh’s Barwani have registered a case against Narmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkar and 11 others for alleged misappropriation of funds collected by an NGO for the education and welfare of tribal children in the state and neighbouring
Maharashtra.
The complainant, Pritam Badole, alleged that Rs 13.5 crore collected by Narmada Navnirman Abhiyan was diverted to finance political activities and manage and organise large-scale protests against development projects.
Patkar has refuted the allegations and called the complaint as “politically motivated”.
Barwani SP Deepak Kumar Shukla told TOI that the case has been registered against a dozen people, including Patkar, under IPC section 420. “It is alleged in the complaint that funds collected between 2007 and 2022 in the name of tribal education and welfare were misappropriated. We have registered the case according to the nature of the complaint. Now, the investigation will be carried out on the basis of documents. Charges and the number of accused may increase based on the probe outcome,” the SP said.
Badole, a resident of Temla Buzurg (a village 30km from the district HQ), has handed over some documents to cops as proof of his charges. He alleged that the money collected in this period was spent without disclosing the source or heads of expenditure.
“I am not aware of the complaint. Similar allegations have been made in the past and we have all the documents and audits related to income and expenditure,” Patkar told reporters. She said that the complainant is associated with RSS and ABVP, and someone might have “misled” him. “There may be political reasons too, and the complainant will face the music if he has done this for defamation without checking facts,” the NBA leader said.
Patkar said the money was used for the intended purpose. Patkar denied operating her bank account. “It is run by a retired person. I don’t take money from the movement,” she said.
Badole admitted he is a member of RSS and associated with ABVP.