'Sachin Waze, Param Bir Singh Have No Honour, Knee Deep In Extortion': Anil Deshmukh's Son Hrishikesh To Mumbai Court
Former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshumkh's son, Hrishikesh, has sought anticipatory bail in the money laundering case being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate, alleging "shocking abuse of power" by the agency.A special court heard Hrishikesh's counsel Senior Advocate Vikram Chaudhri and Aniket Nikam, and ASG Anil Singh for ED, on Saturday, but refused interim relief....
Former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshumkh's son, Hrishikesh, has sought anticipatory bail in the money laundering case being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate, alleging "shocking abuse of power" by the agency.
A special court heard Hrishikesh's counsel Senior Advocate Vikram Chaudhri and Aniket Nikam, and ASG Anil Singh for ED, on Saturday, but refused interim relief. His application is posted for final hearing on November 12.
In his plea, Hrishikesh alleges that Mumbai Police's recent FIR against dismissed cop Sachin Waze and former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh shows the manner in which the allegations have been twisted against him and his father.
According to the ED probe, Deshmukh had received Rs 4.7 crore illegal gratification in cash from various orchestra bar owners between December 2020 and February 2021 through Waze.
In his statement to ED, Waze claimed that he referred to Deshmukh as 'no.1' while handing over the money to Deshmukh's PA, however, Mumbai police FIR states that Waze referred to Param Bir as 'number 1' and not Anil Deshmukh.
"That it is a matter of record that on account of a witch-hunt campaign launched at the instance of certain vested inimical interests, some blatantly false allegations have been levelled by those persons (Sachin Waze & Param Bir Singh) who have absolutely no credibility, honour or pride. These unscrupulous persons are themselves knee-deep involved in several rackets of extortion, fraud and even murder. The principal person who held the high office of Commissioner of Police is now a wanted absconding criminal."
The ED's case is based on the CBI's corruption FIR against Deshmukh wherein Param Bir Singh alleged that Deshmukh had asked Waze and two other officers to illegally collect Rs 100 crore from bar owners every month for him.
I was only a Teenager
It is ED's case that Deshmukh and his family members laundered the money through Delhi based paper companies, 27 shell companies and through the Shri Sai Shikshan Sanstha Trust in the garb of donation.
However, Hrishikesh says one of the properties was purchased 15 years ago when he was a teenager. "In such circumstances, it would be preposterous to assume that the applicant has any role to play in the commission of any offence whatsoever."
He further states that ED was not confining itself to CBI's FIR but getting into much older transactions, which is an overreach of its powers.
"The Applicant is a victim of gross persecution and harassment being meted out to him at the hands of certain unscrupulous vested interests for blatantly malafide considerations. The instant case reflects shocking abuse of power and authority by the concerned officials who have virtually unleashed terror by subverting the process of law. If such adventurism which has been indulged into in the instant case is allowed to go unchecked, it will spell a death knell to the fundamental rights as guaranteed under Part I of the Constitution especially under Article 14, 19 & 21 thereof."
The agency has so far summoned Hrishikesh Deshmukh at least five times. Deshmukh has been remanded to judicial custody in the same case.