Anil Deshmukh appears before ED after evading it for four months

The Bombay high court on Friday rejected Anil Deshmukh’s petition against the ED’s summons and for barring the agency from arresting him even as it said he was free to apply for anticipatory bail

Former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh on Monday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Mumbai after evading the agency for over four months in connection with a money laundering probe against him.

A file photo of former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh. On Monday, he appeared before ED after evading it for four months. (HT/ File photo)

“Despite Hon. High Court granting me liberty to approach the Special Court [for pre-arrest bail] by invoking my constitutional rights, I am today going to the ED’s office and extending my full cooperation in the investigation,” Deshmukh said in one of his tweets on Monday, his first since July 2.

The Bombay high court on Friday rejected Anil Deshmukh’s petition against the ED’s summons and for barring the agency from arresting him even as it said he was free to apply for anticipatory bail.

Deshmukh, who also posted video messages on Twitter, said the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the ED probe, and the alleged harassment meted out to him and his family has deeply aggrieved him.

Former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh has accused Deshmukh of asking police officers, including Sachin Vaze, to collect ₹100 crore monthly from bars, hookah parlours and restaurants.

Vaze has since been arrested in connection with an SUV with explosives found abandoned outside billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s residence, and the death of Mansukh Hiran, who was in possession of the vehicle days before it was reported stolen.

Anil Deshmukh said Vaze is in jail for committing a heinous crime like murder while Singh has fled the country for avoiding arrest in extortion cases registered against him. He added this was the first time that fingers were being pointed at him in his political career.

The ED has summoned Deshmukh five times since June 25. Except for the first, the remaining summons were for Deshmukh’s personal appearance but he did not appear before the agency until Monday.

The money laundering case against Deshmukh was registered on May 11 on the basis of the CBI’s First Information Report (FIR) on April 21.

The ED has so far arrested Anil Deshmukh’s personal assistant Sanjeev Palande and secretary Kundan Shinde in the money laundering case and filed a charge-sheet against them. Vaze has also been named an accused in the charge sheet. The ED has alleged that on Deshmukh’s instructions, Vaze called a meeting of bar owners and demanded monthly ₹3 lakh from each of them.

The agency alleged in the charge sheet that Vaze collected ₹4.7 crore from bar owners between December 2020 and February 2021 at Deshmukh’s behest. It added Vaze handed over the “extorted money” to Shinde and subsequently a part of the amount was routed to the charitable trust in Nagpur through shell companies.

The CBI conducted a preliminary inquiry in the case after Singh moved the high court before registering the FIR against Deshmukh on April 21 under the Prevention of Corruption Act.