Maharashtra: Ex-Home Minister Anil Deshmukh Sent To ED Custody Till Nov 6 In Money Laundering Case

Nearly 12 hours after arresting Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader, ED produced him before a Special Court earlier in the day which then announced the decision. 

Former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh. (Image: ANI)

Mumbai: Former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, who was arrested yesterday in an alleged money laundering case, has been sent to the custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) by a Mumbai Special Court PMLA on Tuesday.

According to reports, the Special Court granted ED four-day custody of Deshmukh till November 6.

Meanwhile, the PMLA court has allowed Deshmukh's application for home food and medicines during his custody to ED. The court has also allowed the presence of his lawyer during the interrogation by the agency.

Nearly 12 hours after arresting Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader, ED produced him before a Special Court earlier in the day which then announced the decision. 

The 72-year-old politician went incommunicado for nearly two months after the matter of money laundering was unearthed by the ED. Deshmukh, however, voluntarily appeared along with his lawyer, before the ED officials on Monday morning.

After 13 hours of grilling, he was placed under arrest at around 1 a.m. on Tuesday.

Reacting to his arrest, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra has castigated the ED and termed it as a "politically motivated move" aimed to destabilise the three-party government.

Deshmukh was questioned over the alleged Rs 100 crore extortion and money laundering case.

The prosecuting agency has alleged that Deshmukh, while serving as Maharashtra's home minister, misused his political position and collected Rs 4.70 crore through dismissed cop Sachin Waze from several bars and restaurants in Mumbai.

Both NCP and the Shiv Sean have questioned the Centre on the whereabouts of the 'missing' former Mumbai Commissioner of Police Param Bir Singh who hurled the allegations against Deshmukh in a letter to CM Thackeray in March this year.

"The arrest does not fit within the legal framework, Deshmukh is already fighting a legal battle the outcome of which is awaited. The arrest is unfortunate," Sena's Chief Spokesperson Sanjay Raut said soon after Deshmukh's arrest.