Anil Deshmukh's ex-personal secretary suspended over corruption case

Sanjeev Palande, an additional collector-rank officer who was personal secretary to former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh and was arrested by ED in connection with a money laundering case, has been suspended by the state government.

Mumbai:The Maharashtra government has suspended Sanjeev Palande, an additional collector-rank officer who was personal secretary to former state home minister Anil Deshmukh, in connection with a money laundering case. The move comes nearly three months after he was arrested in the case.

A government order issued on September 16 said that the officer stands suspended from the date of his arrest as per the provisions of 4 (2) (a) of the Maharashtra Civil Services (Discipline and Appeal) Act, 1979 till further orders. Palande was arrested on June 26 by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with corruption charges against Deshmukh.

Read: I-T raids underway at Maharashtra's former Home Minister Anil Deshmukh's residence

The charge-sheet filed by ED against Sanjeev Palande and Deshmukh's personal assistant Kundan Shinde in the case quoted dismissed police officer Sachin Waze as saying the former HM had asked him to collect money from bar and hotel owners every month, and used to give instructions in high-profile probes.

On Friday, Income Tax officials carried out a raid at Deshmukh's residence in Nagpur as part of ongoing investigation.

The veteran Nationalist Congress Party leader had resigned as Home Minister after former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh levelled corruption allegations against him in a letter written to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.