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NEW DELHI: A special holiday court in Mumbai on Saturday remanded former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh in 14-day judicial custody in connection with an alleged money laundering case.
Special holiday court judge PR Sitre rejected the Enforcement Directorate’s demand for an extension of Deshmukh’s custody for another nine days and remanded him in judicial custody instead.
The ED, which is probing the case, said that Mumbai police officer Sachin Waze (now dismissed) had played a key role in collecting “illegal gratification” from bar owners while in service as directed by Deshmukh who was then the home minister.
‘Deshmukh evasive’
Deshmukh was arrested by the ED late Monday night after 12 hours of questioning. The court on Tuesday remanded him in the agency’s custody till November 6. He was produced before the special court at the end of his ED custody.
While seeking his further custody, the ED told the court that the NCP leader was evasive in his reply and gave vague answers.
The money laundering case against Deshmukh and others was made out after the CBI booked him in a corruption case related to allegations of at least Rs 100 crore bribery made by former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh.
The ED alleged that their investigation has revealed that 27 companies, which are directly or indirectly controlled by Anil Deshmukh and his family, have been utilised for infusion of his ill-gotten money.
These companies are indulging in “irrational but interrelated” transactions and money have been flown from and to each other companies.
“Further it is also revealed that money has been also flown from personal accounts of Hrishikesh Deshmukh, Salil Deshmukh (sons of Anil Deshmukh) and other family members of Anil Deshmukh to these companies,” the ED said.
Even accused Anil Deshmukh had transacted with some of the said companies and is not able to explain the reason for that (which) clearly indicates the intention behind Anil Deshmukh’s denial of the associations with said companies, the probe agency said.
On being asked about his finance and accounts, Deshmukh stated it was being looked after by chartered accountant, Vinod Hasani, the ED said, adding that it has summoned Hasani for confrontation with the fact arisen during the custodial interrogation of Anil Deshmukh, the court was told.
The ED said another accused, Sachin Waze, has a significant role in this money laundering case as he helped collect the illegal gratification from the bar owners of Mumbai at the direction of Anil Deshmukh.
During the investigation, it has come to light that a private person has handed over a list of bars and orchestra owners in Mumbai to Waze on the instruction of Deshmukh, the ED told the court, adding it has summoned this private person for verifying the same.
The ED further told the court that Deshmukh’s son Hrishikesh Deshmukh was summoned on November 5 for the recording of his statement, but he did not appear. Hrishikesh had been summoned five times earlier and he has not turned up even once.
Waze’s custody extended
Separately, another Mumbai court extended till November 13 the police custody of Waze in a different extortion case registered against him at the Goregaon police station.
The Mumbai Police’s crime branch had taken Waze’s custody on November 1 based on the complaint filed by builder-cum-hotelier Bimal Agrawal, in which Param Bir Singh is also an accused.
The police told that court that Waze, along with then city police commissioner Param Bir Singh, extorted huge money from cricket bookies by threatening them with arrest.
How this was done has to be investigated, the court was told.
The crime branch further said they wanted to probe whether Waze took money from anyone else at the instance of Singh and who else, apart from Singh, helped Waze in extortion. The crime branch said it wanted to probe the trail of the extorted money.
(With inputs from PTI)



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