NEW DELHI, May 11: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) and booked the former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with former Mumbai Police chief Param Bir Singh’s allegations that he ran an extortion racket, official sources said on Tuesday.
The fresh case against Deshmukh is based on the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) First Information Report (FIR) registered against him last month.
The agency, however, has not specified the quantum of illegal gratification in its ECIR.
The CBI in its FIR had stated that Deshmukh had used his official position to obtain undue advantage and had also influenced the transfers and postings in the Mumbai Police, as alleged by Singh.
ED, sources said, will look into the financial transactions of Deshmukh as CBI is probing the allegation of Rs 100 crore being illegally collected each month from bars and restaurants in Mumbai on the instructions of Deshmukh.
The CBI initiated an inquiry against Anil Deshmukh after the Bombay High Court directed the agency to look into the allegations of corruption leveled by Singh.
On March 20, Singh, in an eight-page letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, alleged that Deshmukh asked now suspended assistant police inspector Sachin Vaze to collect Rs 100 crore every month, including Rs 40-50 crore, from 1,750 bars and restaurants in Mumbai.
Vaze is being investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for his alleged role in the Ambani house bomb scare and the murder of businessman Mansukh Hiran.
Vaze had earlier submitted a letter to the NIA court supporting the allegations made by Singh against Deshmukh and also levelling charges against Transport Minister Anil Parab. Vaze has alleged that Deshmukh had asked him to pay Rs 2 crore for his reinstatement with the Mumbai Police. The court however, has not taken the letter on record.
Officials said ED was likely to summon Deshmukh and his personal staff soon in its investigation into the case. Unlike the CBI, ED can record statements of any person in a case under PMLA’s Section 50 and it is admissible as evidence in court
The fresh case has been filed days after the CBI on April 24 said it has established “prima facie evidence” against Deshmukh, a leader of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and booked him for corruption and criminal conspiracy.
The CBI’s case came a month after Singh accused Deshmukh of using the Mumbai Police for extortion from bars, hotels, and restaurants.
Four CBI teams on April 24 carried out raids for 12 hours from 6 am at Deshmukh’s residences in Nagpur and Mumbai as well as at his personal assistant Sanjeev Palande’s premises and seized digital devices.
Deshmukh has been named an accused along with “unknown others” in CBI’s FIR registered on April 21 on the completion of a preliminary inquiry. The CBI said the probe found he attempted to obtain undue advantage using his position. In its FIR the CBI has said Deshmukh knew Vaze was probing all key cases in Mumbai.
The NCP spokesman Nawab Malik, who is a minister in the Shiv Sena-led Maharashtra government, dismissed the ED’s case as politically motivated. “Whether it is the case registered by ED or allegations levelled by Param Bir Singh, [there is] an attempt to defame the MVA [Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi] government by using power.” Malik accused the BJP-led government at the Centre of using central agencies CBI, ED for political reasons. “The action by ED is politically motivated as BJP wants to defame the leader [Deshmukh], his party [NCP], and the state government.” Malik reiterated Deshmukh will cooperate with the probe.
Congress leader Sachin Sawant said the action against Deshmukh has been initiated to cover up the Narendra Modi government’s failure in tacking the second Covid-19 wave. “ED filing case against Deshmukh is out of Modi government’s ridiculous mindset and dangerous politics that is detrimental to democracy. It is an attempt to cover up its own failure in handling the Covid-19 pandemic crisis and divert the attention of people from it,” said Sawant, whose party is a constituent of the MVA government.
BJP leader Atul Bhatkhalkar hit back and asked the ruling parties why they were scared of the probe if there is no involvement of Deshmukh. “The CBI probe was ordered by the high court, not the BJP or the central government, and action is being taken accordingly. …Deshmukh has said he was ready to face the probe as he wants the truth to come to the fore. If it is so, he should face the probe,” he said.
(Manas Dasgupta)