Days after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed an FIR against Anil Deshmukh on charges of bribery, the Enforcement Directorate has now filed a case against him under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Deshmukh is a leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the former Home Minister of Maharashtra.
As per reports, the ED had filed an enforcement case information report (ECIR) against him in connection to the allegations of accepting bribery made by ex Mumbai top cop Param Bir Singh. As such, Anil Deshmukh might be summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for interrogation. The case was made out based on the details of the corruption case filed by the CBI on April 24. The central agency has however not specified the ‘quantum of illegal gratification’ but sources said that it will probe his financial transactions.
After the ECIR was filed, both the NCP and Congress leaders have alleged that it was a case of ‘political revenge.’ They claimed that the action against Anil Deshmukh was taken to divert attention from PM Modi’s supposed mismanagement of the Coronavirus pandemic. The Nationalist Congress party had claimed that BJP wanted to defame the Maha Vikas Aghadi and the party.
माजी गृहमंत्री @AnilDeshmukhNCP यांच्यावर ईडीने गुन्हा दाखल केल्याचे वृत्त आहे. राजकीय हेतूने व सत्तेचा वापर करून त्यांना बदनाम करण्यासाठी हे कारस्थान सुरू आहे, अशी प्रतिक्रिया राष्ट्रवादी काँग्रेसचे राष्ट्रीय प्रवक्ते आणि अल्पसंख्याक मंत्री ना. @nawabmalikncp यांनी दिली आहे. pic.twitter.com/Bp9nsWDEM4
— NCP (@NCPspeaks) May 11, 2021
In a statement, NCP leader Nawab Malik claimed, “Right from Singh’s allegations to the filing of the case by the ED, it is all politically motivated and aimed at defaming him (Deshmukh) by misusing power. It is clear that the BJP is playing politics using the CBI, ED and other Central agencies…Whatever the legal aspects, Deshmukh ji will cooperate in the probe.”
CBI filed a corruption case against Anil Deshmukh
Earlier on April 24, the CBI had filed a case against the NCP leader for corruption and misuse of power. The central investigative authority had informed that Deshmukh and other unidentified individuals took undue advantage of their official position.
A preliminary investigation by the CBI, as directed by the Bombay High Court, found that Deshmukh was privy to the information that all ‘sensational and important cases of the police’ were being handled by the tainted cop Sachin Waze. The central agency had searched residences of Anil Deshmukh in Nagpur, Mumbai, Thane and Pune.
