Nagpur (Maharashtra): Tightening the noose around Maharashtra former home minister Anil Deshmukh, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) issued arrest warrants against son Salil and Sune today in connection with a money laundering case. A seven-member CBI team, comprising one female and six male officers, carried out raids at the former minister's residence in Nagpur on Monday.
The CBI started its investigation after former Mumbai Police commissioner Param Bir Singh made an allegation that Deshmukh had directed assistant police inspector Sachin Vaze to collect Rs100 crore every month from establishments in Mumbai. The petitioner had earlier approached the Bombay High Court, and following which CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED) started their investigation.
The ex-minister and his family have gone into hiding when probe agencies started an investigation against him. All eyes are on CBI now to know what steps the probe agency would take against Deshmukh and his family members.
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Recently on October 6, Maharashtra Deputy Home Secretary Kailash Gaikwad has appeared before the ED, which is investigating the money laundering case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against Deshmukh. ED registered a case against Deshmukh and others based on a corruption case filed against him by the CBI.
On September 2, CBI had arrested Deshmukh's lawyer Anand Daga and CBI sub-inspector Abhishek Tiwari for allegedly leaking confidential documents related to the preliminary enquiry against Deshmukh. The preliminary enquiry details revealed the Deputy SP probing the matter had purportedly opined that no cognisable offence was made against Deshmukh. It gave clean chit to Anil Deshmukh and the details were leaked to the media causing an embarrassment to the CBI after opposition parties accused the agency of conducting a motivated probe against the ex-minister. Soon after the leak, the CBI booked Tiwari and Daga on the allegations of leaking documents. The FIR alleged that during the course of the inquiry, Tiwari had been in regular contact with him.
Also read: Deshmukh money laundering case: Maha home dept's deputy secretary appears before ED
The FIR alleged that Daga handed an IPhone 12 pro as reward to Tiwari for passing details of the investigation. The agency also alleged that Tiwari had been receiving such illegal gratification from Daga at regular intervals.
