CBI opposes ex-Maharashtra minister Anil Deshmukh's bail plea in corruption case

Mumbai: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday filed its reply opposing the bail plea of former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh in a corruption case registered against him.

The 71-year-old NCP leader was arrested in November last year in a money laundering case being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and is currently lodged in Arthur Road Jail.

The Bombay High Court had last week granted bail to the former minister in the money laundering case, following which he approached the special CBI court for bail in the corruption case.

The former minister, in his plea, claimed that former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh and dismissed cop Sachin Waze had acted "in cahoots” and passed the buck to him to save their skin.

The plea also raised questions about the credibility of the statements on which the CBI's case was based.

Appearing for the probe agency, additional public prosecutor Ashish Chavan said, "We are opposing his bail tooth and nail. We have opposed all the contentions made in the bail plea." Earlier, Param Bir Singh had alleged that Deshmukh, the then state home minister, had directed police personnel to collect Rs 100 crore per month from restaurants and bars in the city.

Deshmukh refuted the allegations, but had to step down from his post after the Bombay High Court directed the CBI to register a case against him.

According to the probe agency, a preliminary inquiry had revealed that the accused and others had allegedly attempted to take undue advantage of their public duties.

The other accused in the case are Anil Deshmukh's aides Sanjeev Palande and Kundan Shinde.

The next hearing on the plea will be held on October 18.