NEW DELHI/NAGPUR: Grave questions have surfaced over the source of funds for Purti Power and Sugar Ltd, controlled by BJP president Nitin Gadkari . Investigations reveal significant investments and large loans to Purti by a construction firm, Ideal Road Builders (IRB) Group, which had won contracts between 1995 and 1999, when Gadkari was the PWD minister in Maharashtra.

Besides IRB Group, the other significant shareholders in Purti are a clutch of 16 companies. TOI's investigations across four cities revealed that most addresses in which these companies are registered are unverifiable, and that the firms are controlled by Gadkari's close aides.

Records of 2010-11 show that directors of these investor companies included Gadkari's driver, his ‘diwan' (accountant) and two employees of Purti. One of them is said to be a friend of his son, Nikhil. The IRB connection is significant. The company and its promoter D P Mhaiskar together subscribed to 68.4 lakh shares of Purti. More importantly, an IRB firm, Global Safety Vision, loaned Rs 164 crore to Gadkari's company. The BJP chief, who is one of the seven promoters of Purti, currently holds just 310 shares worth Rs 3,100.

When Gadkari met TOI in Nagpur on Monday, he denied any wrongdoing. "I am ready to face any inquiry," he said. He added, "I resigned as Purti chairman 14 months ago." TOI had withheld the story for 24 hours as the BJP chief was not available for comment initially.

Global's loan came in a year when Purti had a turnover of Rs 145 crore and accumulated losses of Rs 48.94 crore. IRB Group's contribution in strengthening finances of Purti is noticeable on filings of the company over the years. Also, Global appointed its director Ganesh Gadre on Purti's board as a nominee director. Purti's power and sugar plants and the 47.69-hectare plot — on which the factories are housed — are mortgaged to Global.

In a detailed reaction, Sudhir Dive, managing director of Purti Power and Sugar Limited, denied any irregularity in company's funding from IRB or other sources. "Purti has losses of Rs 64 crore, Mhaiskar loaned us Rs 164 crore through Global, and we have repaid him Rs 62 crore which includes interest," said Dive.

"There's no suspicion around the investment, growth and associations of Purti Power and Sugar Limited," said Dive in a written reply to queries sent by TOI. "All the companies are genuine and are 12-15 years old, they are also complying with all the rules and regulations," he asserted.

However, TOI's investigation shows that most companies that invested in Purti don't exist at the addresses shown in the records of the Registrar of Companies.

For instance, five of the investor companies — Nivita Trades, Swiftsol, Rigma Fintrade, Ashwami Sales and Marketing and Earnwell Traders — are shown as registered at Dube Chawl, a slum in Mumbai's Andheri East.

Ramesh Dube, the owner of the chawl, maintained that no company had ever functioned from the area. "I know of no one who has or currently operates an office in this colony," Dube told TOI.

Three other major holders of the Group — Vidya Buildcon , Sanobar Infrastructure and Roller Multitrade — are registered at an address, Sri Nivas House in Mumbai's Fort Area, which actually belongs to the well-known Somani Group. When TOI visited the premises, members of the Somani family and their employees denied any knowledge of the firms which in official records operate from the same address.

Inquiries revealed that it was actually Pradeep Vyas, a manager of Gujarat Composite Limited, a unit of the Bangar Group that operates from the same building, who had mentioned Somani's premises as that of the Purti investors. Vyas admitted mentioning Somani's premises as the address of Purti investors, saying that he did so at the instance of his chartered accountant friend, Chandrashekhar Sarda. When reached in Kolkata, Sarda said that the companies actually belonged to Kolkata-based investors. "We liaison with them for ROC requirements," Sarda said.

Just like their addresses, the credentials of the directors of Purti's investor companies are also intriguing. TOI inquired about four of the set who were directors in 16 firms that invested in Purti.

Thus, Manohar Panse, who used to be Gadkari's driver, happened to be a director in five of Purti's investor companies. In fact, between 2009 and 2011, Panse was a director in six other companies as well. When contacted, Dive admitted that Panse was Gadkari's driver, but clarified that he is "now a director of only one company." Incidentally, Panse was a key witness in the case where a seven-year-old girl was found dead in a car parked in Gadkari's residential complex in 2009.

Likewise, the address of another director in some of these investor firms, Kawdu Pandurang Zade, is the same as Gadkari's in Nagpur. Zade, known as "Diwan" in the Gadkari household, was a director in 12 holding companies.

Importantly, Dive, who joined Purti as its MD in 2005, was the BJP chief's personal assistant when he was the PWD minister. He continued with Gadkari, serving as his personal secretary when the BJP president became the Leader of Opposition (1999-2004) in the Maharashtra Legislative Council.

Apart from the diwan and the driver, the other two directors are Nishant Vijaya Agnihotri and Sagar Shripad Kotwaliwale. Both are employees of Purti, with the latter reportedly a close friend of Gadkari's son. Interestingly, various combinations of two of these four were directors in 16 out of the 21 companies.

Apart from the common set of directors, there is something else that runs through Purti's investor companies as a conspicuous thread. At least 19 of these have registered the same email id with the Registrar of Companies — rajsharma54@yahoo.com. An e-mail sent to the id on Monday evening is yet to elicit a response. Gadkari and Dive said they did not know the identity of Sharma.

The investing companies have now got new directors, but they too are a closed group of people — 11 of them staying in the same locality in Kolkata. FAMOUS FIVE : The people who have some connections with Nitin Gadkari

Sudhir Wamanrao Dive : MD in Purti Power and Sugar Limited since April 24, 2005. He was a tehsildar in Nagpur district. He came on deputation as the personal assistant of Gadkari during the latter’s tenure as PWD minister between 1995 and 1999. Later, he was Gadkari’s personal secretary. Dive's younger brother, Dilip Dive, was a BJP candidate in the recent civic elections.

Kawdu Pandurang Zade: Believed to be Gadkari’s classmate and from the same village, Dhapewada. Along with Gadkari, Diwe used to run a shop in the ground floor of Gadkari’s building. Zade has been living in Gadkari’s house for several years. He is named ‘Diwanji’, which means a person looking after financial matters.

Manohar Madhavrao Panse: Driver of Nitin Gadkari. Now, he looks after all household work. His name featured when Gadkari was in a controversy for when a young girl, Yogita Thakre, was found dead in a Honda CRV belonging to the Gadkari family in 2009. ‘Panse-kaka’ is as good as a family member.

Nishant Vijay Agnihotri: Works in Purti Power and Sugar Limited and is posted at Purti’s head office.

Sagar Shripad Kotwaliwale: Works at Purti Purti’s head office since 2006. Rumoured to be a friend and classmate of Gadkaris’ son Nikhil. Sagar is also an RSS activist.

( Additional reporting by Rajshri Mehta and Sandeep Ashar in Mumbai ).