BREAKING : Former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh Remanded to ED's Custody Till Nov 6

 A special holiday court on Tuesday remanded former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh in the Enforcement Directorate's custody till November 6 in a money laundering case.

Deshmukh appeared before the agency on Monday as he was summoned. The senior NCP leader was arrested following more than 12 hours of questioning.

Special Judge PB Jadhav passed the order after hearing Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh and senior advocate Vikram Chaudhri assisted by advocate Aniket Nikam.

The media was not allowed inside the court.

According to arguing counsels, ED sought Deshmukh's custody for 14 days.

Advocate Chaudhri for Deshmukh opposed the prayer saying that before the Bombay High Court as well the Supreme Court, the agency had said that Anil Deshmukh has not been named as an accused in the case so far.

That is why Deshmukh himself appeared before the ED yesterday, he said. He asked what fresh evidence was collected between October 29 and today.

He cited Deshmukh's ailments, saying his shoulder is dislocated and he needs constant support. He argued that Deshmukh suffered from Covid in February and also suffers from a heart ailment.

On Friday, the Bombay High Court had refused relief to quash summons issued by the ED to Deshmukh in connection.

The ED's case is based on the CBI's corruption FIR against Deshmukh wherein Ex-Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh alleged that Deshmukh had asked dismissed cop Sachin Waze and two other officers to illegally collect Rs 100 crore from bar owners every month for him.

In a self-recorded video before his arrest, Deshmukh refuted Singh's allegations against him. While he had come before the agency, Singh(wanted in several cases) was nowhere to be found, he added.

According to the ED probe, as Maharashtra's home minister, Deshmukh had received Rs 4.7 crore in illegal gratification in cash from various orchestra bar owners between December 2020 and February 2021 through Waze.

The agency recently filed a prosecution complaint against Waze and 12 others. The ED has issued summons to Deshmukh at least five times, asking him to appear before it. They have cited his non-appearance for not naming him in the chargesheet.

In the video Deshmukh said, "I have received ED summons and the media has wrongly reported that I am not cooperating with the investigation. After every summon, I informed the ED that my petition is pending before the courts and that I will produce myself before the ED after their outcomes. My staff and my family have always cooperated with the ED during the searches. I have also recorded my statements with the CBI. Today I am appearing before the ED," he said.

"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 who have absolutely no credibility, honour or pride. These unscrupulous persons are themselves knee-deep involved in several rackets of extortion and even murder. The principal person who held the high office of commissioner of police is now a wanted absconding criminal," said Deshmukh.

The ED remand stated that, "Anil Deshmukh by virtue of his earlier position as Home Minister of Maharashtra Govt. has received amounts to the tune of approximately Rs 4.70 Crore, collected from orchestra bar owners/ managers for smooth functioning of bars and part of the said bribe money was used by him through his son Hrishikesh Deshmukh for providing cash to Delhi based paper companies and after layering the same was routed to the Shri Sai Shikshan Sanstha Trust in the garb of donation. The trust is formed, managed & controlled by Anil Deshmukh and his family members and laundered the bribe money with the help of said Delhi based paper companies by attempting to color it as donation to his trust."

The ED's remand said that with the help of close associates, Deshmukh family was indirectly controlling/ managing the business activities in various companies and laundering the money by creating complex web of transactions.

"The investigation also revealed that the flat located at Worli, Mumbai which is beneficially owned by Anil Deshmukh in the name of his wife Aarti Deshmukh, entire payment was made through cash only in 2004 however sale deed was done in month of February 2020 when Anil Deshmukh was Home Minister of State of Maharashtra."

The ED claimed Deshmukh had given instructions to his PA Kundan Shinde to collect Rs.4.70 Crore from Sachin Waze. Shinde is also a member of the Trust Shri Sai Shikshan Sanstha wherein the tainted money collected from Orchestra bar owners /managers had been parked, the ED said.

"It may be appreciated that it is clear that the accused has played a very crucial role in the offence of money laundering. He has not cooperated with the investigation. He has not provided the required information regarding the laundering of proceeds of crime. Sustained interrogation under custody is required to unearth the trail of funds, for corroboration and confrontation with other persons involved in the case", stated ED's remand.