Nashik Court Sentences Minister in 30-Year-Old Cheating Case

A Nashik court sentenced Manikrao Kokate, Maharashtra's agriculture minister, to two years in prison for forging documents to obtain government flats. His brother was also convicted, while two others were acquitted. Kokate plans to appeal the decision, having already secured bail.

A Nashik court on Thursday handed a two-year prison sentence to Maharashtra's agriculture minister and NCP leader, Manikrao Kokate, and fined him Rs 50,000. The verdict stems from a 30-year-old case involving the submission of forged documents to secure government-allocated flats.

The court also convicted Kokate's brother, Sunil Kokate. The case was originally filed in 1995 by former minister, the late TS Dighole, who accused them of falsely claiming low-income status to acquire two flats under the chief minister's 10% discretionary quota.

Despite the conviction, Kokate, who attended the court proceedings, announced that he had already secured bail and intends to appeal the ruling. Meanwhile, the court acquitted two other individuals named in the original complaint.