The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had arrested Anil Deshmukh on November 1 last year on charges of extortion of Rs 100 crore and money laundering. Parambir Singh, the then police commissioner of Mumbai, had accused him of entrusting the then assistant inspector Sachin Waje with the task of collecting Rs 100 crore per month from hotels and bars.
The central probe agency will now record Deshmukh’s statement under PMLA in connection with the Rs 100 crore extortion gang running in Maharashtra Police. The ED has registered a case against Deshmukh and others on the basis of a corruption case registered by the CBI.
Malik appealed to the High Court
At the same time, Maharashtra cabinet minister Nawab Malik on Wednesday requested the Bombay High Court to pass an interim order to release him from custody. Malik was arrested by the ED last month. Malik’s lawyer Amit Desai told the court that the police officers cannot defame anyone in the apprehension of their involvement in the case on fictitious grounds. This is my request.
Malik’s lawyer said that we are ready to go for full hearing of the matter at any date after his release, but please grant him interim relief. He has already spent 16 days in jail.
The ED had arrested Malik on February 23 in connection with a money laundering probe involving the activities of fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and his associates. The court had sent him to judicial custody on Monday. The next hearing in the case is to be held on Thursday.
Relief to Parambir Singh from Supreme Court
The Supreme Court has once again given relief to Parambir Singh, the former Mumbai Police Commissioner in the corruption and recovery case. The court has extended Singh’s interim relief period to March 24. Now in the investigation being done against Singh by Mumbai Police, he cannot be arrested till March 24. Along with this, the court has ordered the state government to stop its investigation for the time being.
In fact, on behalf of Parambir Singh, a petition was filed in the Supreme Court seeking to hand over all the cases to the CBI. The counsel appearing for Singh had said that the state government was trying to foil Singh’s investigation. The court then said that it would consider whether the cases registered against Singh by the Maharashtra Police would be handed over to the CBI.
However, it should put all its investigation on hold till a decision is taken on the issue. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for CBI, told the bench that it is in everyone’s interest that all cases be probed by the central probe agency. Earlier, the bench had restrained the Mumbai Police from continuing the investigation against Parambir Singh but from presenting the charge sheet against him.