Aryan Grover
After the Bombay High Court ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the corruption charges levelled against Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, the minister resigned from his post, stating moral grounds. These events are the aftermath of the letter sent by former Mumbai Police commissioner Param Bir Singh, which alleged corruption malpractices against Anil Deshmukh.
Anil Deshmukh submitted his resignation letter, which was tendered to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. Following this, senior National Congress Party (NCP) leader Dilip Walse-Patil, who was handling Excise and Labour departments, was given the charge of the vacant Home Minister post. The Maharashtra government and Mr. Deshmukh have sought to approach the Supreme Court against the High Court’s order.
Param Bir Singh’s letter to the Chief Minister of Maharashtra had advanced serious charges against Deshmukh, which linked him to an extortion racket, where he had apparently asked suspended Mumbai cop Sachin Waze to collect Rs. 100 crore every month from various bars and restaurants in the city. This is of greater concern because Waze has been linked to the Antilia Bomb Scare case, where explosives were found in an SUV near the house of industrialist Mukesh Ambani.
Anil Deshmukh has, however, firmly denied all the allegations against him and has stated that he could prove that he was in a hospital, seeking treatment for COVID-19 at the time when he was allegedly seen discussing the Rs. 100 crore extortion racket with the police officers.
Apart from the Bombay High Court, the Maharashtra government too has formed a single- member committee to look into the allegations. Retired High Court judge Kailash Chandiwal is expected to submit his report on this matter within six months. Amidst rising political pressure, the BJP has been demanding Deshmukh’s removal from the Maha Vikas Aghadi government.