Former Maharashtra interior minister Anil Deshmukh did not appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning in the event of extortion, said his lawyer Jayawant Patil.
Anil Deshmukh was due to appear for questioning at 11 a.m. on Saturday. However, he skipped the subpoena and instead applied to appear before the ED. Earlier it was reported that the business intelligence service was reviewing the application.
“We have not received any documents for a transfer. We requested the documents so that the answers to the inquiries could be prepared. We didn’t ask for a specific release date. It is up to the ED officials to review the application and take a call, ”he said.
The lawyers also alleged that former Maharashtra Interior Minister Anil Deshmukh was present in Mumbai and willing to cooperate with the agency in the investigation.
ED investigation so far
The ED case against Deshmukh and others came after the CBI first conducted a preliminary investigation, followed by a regular case filed by order of the Bombay High Court.
The court had asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Investigation of allegations of bribery against Anil Deshmukh by former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh.
On May 11, the agency filed a criminal case against Anil Deshmukh under the Money Laundering Act.
Sources said that ED officials found a trail of Rs 4 crores in money this was extorted from around 12 bar owners and collected over a few months by former deputy inspector Sachin Vaze.
The ED investigation was ordered after former Mumbai top cop Param Bir Singh accused Anil Deshmukh of instructing the now-suspended API Sachin Vaze and others to extort 100 crores from restaurants and bars across Mumbai. Waze has since been released from service.
On Friday morning, ED officials arrived at Deshmukh’s residence in Nagpur, his two Mumbai residences at Worli and Malabar Hill, and the homes of Shinde and Palande. Anil Deshmukh and one of his sons were present at their Worli residence. The central authority then arrested his personal assistant and personal secretary.
Anil Deshmukh, who resigned from his post in April following the allegations, has denied any wrongdoing and said the allegations against him were unfounded.
BJP targets leaders of Maha Vikas Aghadi
Meanwhile, politics never ends. Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said the BJP is desperate to seize power in the state and is therefore targeting the leaders of Shiv Sena, the NCP and Congress.
Parambir Singh made false accusations against me after he was removed from CP because of his dubious role in the Antilia case and the Mansukh Hiren murder. I am expanding my full cooperation with the central investigative authorities and am confident that the truth will come out soon!
– ANIL DESHMUKH (nAnilDeshmukhNCP) June 25, 2021
Congress chief Sachin Sawant said Narendra Modi’s government was using the central authorities to settle political bills.
All national investigative authorities have given up their independence before the Modi government and are used as political weapons against the opposition. All three parties must join forces to oppose this trick by the Modi government to defame the MVA by torturing MVA leaders. We have to save democracy.
– Sachin Sawant (@sachin_inc) June 25, 2021
Meanwhile, BJP chief Kirit Somaiya said the state’s former interior minister would soon be arrested for corruption.
(With PTI inputs)
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