CBI gets court nod to probe Deshmukh in corruption case

Mumbai, Apr 01: A court here on Thursday allowed a CBI plea seeking its permission to take custody of former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh for investigation into a corruption case registered against him and others, PTI reported.

Deshmukh (71), a senior NCP leader, and his two aides - Sanjeev Palande and Kundan Shinde - are currently in jail under judicial custody in a money laundering case being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

The CBI on Thursday moved an application before additional sessions judge D P Singhade for making a request to the special PMLA court, presiding over the money laundering case, to transfer Deshmukh and his two aides to the custody of its investigating officer looking into the corruption case.

A similar permission was also sought for dismissed police officer Sachin Waze, another accused in the case. Waze is in judicial custody after being arrested by the NIA in the Antila bomb scare-Mansukh Hiran murder case. Judge Singhade allowed the central probe agency's application and issued a letter of request to the courts concerned.

Former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh had last March alleged that Deshmukh, then-home minister, had given a target to police officers to collect Rs 100 crore per month from restaurants and bars in the metropolis. Deshmukh has denied the allegations.

The CBI had lodged an FIR after conducting a preliminary enquiry against Deshmukh following an order of the Bombay High Court last April. The NCP leader had resigned from the state cabinet after the HC order.

(PTI)