Ex-DGP Sanjay Pandey Accused of Plotting to Jail Fadnavis, Shinde in ULC Scam

• An intelligence report by former DGP Rashmi Shukla alleges ex-DGP Sanjay Pandey conspired in 2021 to frame Devendra Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde in the ULC scam.
• The alleged conspiracy, during the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, aimed to arrest Fadnavis (then LoP) and Shinde (then Urban Development Minister).
• The ULC scam, related to the Urban Land Ceiling Act, involved large-scale embezzlement in Thane in 2016, with ED seizing assets worth crores.
• Sanjay Pandey, a 1986-batch IPS officer, had a controversial career, including arresting Gopinath Munde in 1994 and later being arrested in a phone tapping case.
• The report's timing, amidst local body elections in Maharashtra, is expected to ignite a significant political conflict and potential formal investigation.

Why It Matters: Former DGP Sanjay Pandey is accused of a political conspiracy to jail top Maharashtra leaders.