ED registers case against Anil Deshmukh, will probe financial dealings

The ECIR filed by the ED is based on the corruption case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation against former Maharashtra Home minister Anil Deshmukh last month.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) Tuesday registered an enforcement case information report (ECIR) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against former Maharashtra Home minister Anil Deshmukh, for allegedly obtaining illegal gratification, ED officials said.

The agency, however, has not specified the quantum of illegal gratification in its ECIR.

The ECIR filed by the ED is based on the corruption case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Deshmukh last month. The CBI has said that Deshmukh had used his official position to obtain undue advantage and had also influenced the transfers and postings in the Mumbai Police, as alleged by former Mumbai Police commissioner Parambir Singh.

ED, sources said, will look into the financial transactions of Deshmukh as CBI is probing the allegation of Rs 100 crore being illegally collected each month from bars and restaurants in Mumbai on the instructions of Deshmukh.

The CBI initiated an inquiry against Anil Deshmukh after the Bombay High Court directed the agency to look into the allegations of corruption leveled by Parambir Singh.

On March 20, Singh, in an eight-page letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, alleged that Deshmukh asked now suspended API Sachin Waze to collect Rs 100 crore every month, including Rs 40-50 crore, from 1,750 bars and restaurants in Mumbai.

Waze is being investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for his alleged role in the Ambani house bomb scare and the murder of businessman Mansukh Hiran.

Waze had earlier submitted a letter to the NIA court supporting the allegations made by Singh against Deshmukh and also levelling charges against Transport Minister Anil Parab of the Shiv Sena. Waze has alleged that Deshmukh has asked him to pay Rs 2 crore for his reinstatement with the Mumbai Police. The court however, has not taken the letter on record.

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