Manikrao Kokate sentenced to two years’ imprisonment by a court on February 20. He was charged with submitting fake documents to get flats under a government quota. The Nashik district and sessions court also convicted his brother Sunil Kokate in the same case, on the complaint of former minister, late T S Dighole. The minister later told reporters that the court had granted him bail, and he would move the High Court against the judgement. The rival NCP (SP) demanded that Kokate should resign following the verdict. He would be the second minister of the Ajit Pawar-led NCP in the BJP-led state government to find himself in trouble. NCP leader and cabinet minister Dhananjay Munde is facing the heat after his close aide was arrested in an extortion case related to the brutal murder of a village sarpanch in Beed district in December 2024. He could possibly attract disqualification as an MLA if he does not get any relief from the high court.
