Maharashtra Ex Home Minister Appears For Questioning After Skipping Summons

Mumbai: Former Maharashtra Home Minister and Nationalist Congress Party leader Anil Deshmukh appeared before the Enforcement Directorate at his office on Monday as part of the central agency’s probe into extortion and money laundering against him.

Deshmukh today appeared before the ED after several summons were issued in the past.

The development comes days after the Bombay High Court last Friday dismissed Deshmukh’s plea challenging the ED summons. The court said the former minister failed to make a case for quashing the ED’s summons.

As Deshmukh appeared before the ED today, he accused former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh of lying against him.

“Today, I’ve presented myself before the Enforcement Directorate. Former Mumbai Police commissioner Param Bir Singh made false allegations against me. Where is he today? As per media reports, he has left the country,” Deshmukh said in a self-made video.

https://twitter.com/AnilDeshmukhNCP/status/1455068801288966147?s=20

Meanwhile, during the hearing last week, the High Court had observed that the former minister’s plea had nothing to order the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation not to take any coercive action against the NCP leader.

The court had on Friday allowed Deshmukh’s lawyer to accompany the politician to the ED office and appear within “visible distance but not audible distance” during the interrogation of the former minister.

The ED had launched its probe against Deshmukh and others and had summoned the former minister for questioning after the move to register an FIR against them on April 21 this year. The FIR mentions allegations of corruption and abuse of official position.

Deshmukh had filed against the former home minister against corruption and malpractice following a preliminary inquiry by the CBI, instituted by Param Bir Singh.

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