BJP files police complaint against Deshmukh

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday filed a complaint with Samtangar police against Home Minister Anil Deshmukh. The complaint said that the minister had assigned a police officer to extort money from pubs and bars running in Mumbai city.

Kandivali (Maharashtra): BJP MLA Atul Bhatkhalkar on Monday lodged a complaint with the Samtanagar police against Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, who has been facing serious corruption charges after the former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh alleged that he ordered a police officer to extort money from pubs and bars in the city.

In a mail to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackrey on Saturday Singh said Deshmukh asked Assistant Police Inspector Sachin Vaze, who is in NIA custody, to collect Rs 100 crore from Mumbai's restaurants, bars and hookah bars.

Earlier on Sunday, BJP workers, leaders and legislators staged protests and demonstrations outside Deshmukh's home in Nagpur and Mumbai before police detained several protestors, including Mumbai party chief Mangal Prabhat Lodha, and MLA Atul Bhatkalkar.

However, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar has given a clean chit to Deshmukh and said the allegations against him are vague.