Latur, May 7 (PTI) Police on Thursday arrested former Collector of Maharashtra’s Beed district, Avinash Pathak, in connection with alleged land acquisition compensation scam running into Rs 241 crore, officials said.
Pathak (55), a 2013-batch IAS officer, was arrested in Latur by a Special Investigation Team of the Beed police on Thursday morning, they said.
According to police, a case had been registered at the Shivajinagar police station in Beed against 10 persons, including Pathak, over allegations of fraudulent land acquisition compensation orders.
The police said fake compensation approvals were issued using Pathak’s name, designation, and forged signatures even after his transfer from Beed district.
Pathak, a native of Latur, had earlier served as Additional District Collector in Latur during the COVID-19 pandemic. He had also worked as a Land Acquisition Officer in Dharashiv district.
As per the preliminary investigation by a committee appointed to probe the matter, 154 cases of fabricated orders came to light in which the name, designation and signature of the then collector Pathak, covering the period from March 1, 2025 to April 17, 2025, were used.
In these 154 cases, fabricated orders for enhanced compensation amounting to approximately Rs 241.62 crore were prepared.
Pathak has been booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections, including 318 (4) (cheating and dishonestly inducing the delivery of property), 316 (5) (criminal breach of trust), 338, 336(3) and 340 (2) (all linked to forgery), 198 (public servant disobeying law), 351(4) (criminal intimidation), along with sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
With assistance from the Latur police, the team from Beed arrested Pathak at his residence in Latur’s Hatte Nagar area. The arrest operation was carried out under the leadership of Assistant Superintendent of Police Venkataraman (IPS). PTI COR NP
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