NEW DELHI, Nov 2: After some 12 hours of questioning, the former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh was placed under arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on charges of corruption and money laundering.
Deshmukh had appeared before the ED on Monday when he was grilled for over 12 hours before he was arrested. The ED sources said, the former minister was not co-operating in the investigation and was giving evasive answers. The Bombay High Court had on October 29 rejected Deshmukh’s plea for quashing of the ED summons against him to quash the summons against him compelling him to respond to its summons and appear before the central agency for questioning.
On June 25, the directorate had carried out searches at his and his son’s residences after which summons were issued to him asking him to remain present on an assigned date. Subsequently, two more summons were issued on June 28 and July 2. On all the three occasions Deshmukh sent his authorised representative with a written reply. On July 30, the ED sent a fourth summons and then the agency issued an order of provisional attachment on July 16.
The case was registered against him on March 20 when the then Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh wrote a letter to the Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray alleging Deshmukh of abusing his position and powers to seek illegal monetary benefits. The letter alleged instances of Deshmukh directing suspended police officer Sachin Vaze and others to collect ₹100 crores from bars and restaurants over a month.
Soon thereafter, the High Court directed a preliminary enquiry to be held against Deshmukh by the Central Bureau of Investigation. The ED then stepped in and started conducting a probe into allegations of money laundering against Deshmukh.
On April 21, an FIR was registered against him under section 120 B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 7 (public servant taking gratification other than legal remuneration in respect of an official act) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
(Manas Dasgupta)
