Akanksha Singh-
The former home minister of Maharashtra, Anil Deshmukh has been summoned by ED (Enforcement Directorate) on Saturday but he asked for a new date for questioning him on a money laundering case related to an alleged multi-crore bribery-cum-extortion racket on 26th June.
His personal secretary and personal assistant, Mr Sanjeev Palande and Kundan Shinde were arrested the previous night by the central agency after it had carried out raids against them.
After the investigation, his secretary and assistant were brought to the ED office for enquiry and later arrested.
ED will present them in court for cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in Mumbai on 26th June, where the ED will seek his remand for custodial interrogation, officials said.
The court had asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe the bribery allegations leveled against Deshmukh by former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh. Former Minister Anil Deshmukh had denied these allegations.
As per the ED, there are approx. 10 bar owners of Mumbai who have recorded their statements before alleging that they had paid a “bribe” of about Rs 4 crore in cash within a duration of three months that was to be handed over to former home minister Deshmukh through police officials.
The ED has recorded the statement of key witness DCP Raju Bhujbal. The former minister reportedly repeated the demand of Rs 100 crore by calling Bhujbal along with ACP Sanjay Patil to his official residence.
After the enquiry, Deshmukh had been registered under the corruption case and subsequently a money laundering case.