Former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh appeared before CBI in a Rs 100 crore extortion case. CBI on Monday issued a notice calling Deshmukh to join the agency’s probe into the allegations levelled against him by former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh after he was removed from this post. Bombay High Court directed the agency for preliminary inquiry into the whole case after which teams in Mumbai are recording statements and interrogating people related to the case.
Deshmukh reached the DRDO and Airforce guest house in Santacruz (East) around 10 am on Wednesday and CBI grilled him for over 10 hours.
The CBI questioned Deshmukh’s two PAs Sanjeev Palande and Kundan Shinde on Sunday. The agency has also questioned Singh, deputy commissioner police Raju Bhujbal, assistant commissioner police Sanjay Patil, and former assistant police inspector Sachin Vaze and his two drivers. Also, statements of advocate Jayshree Patil and hotel owner Mahesh Shetty have been recorded till now. Vaze is under investigation in the case of an explosive-laden SUV found near industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s residence in south Mumbai. The allegations by Singh are reportedly corroborated by Vaze in the custody of the NIA, which is conducting a probe into the SUV case.
In a letter, Singh had claimed that Deshmukh asked Vaze to allegedly extort Rs 100 crore a month from bars and restaurants in Mumbai. Deshmukh, who resigned from his post on moral grounds, has denied all the allegations so far.