CBI files charge sheet against former Maharashtra minister Anil Deshmukh in Rs 100 cr bribery case

File image of former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh (Image: News agency ANI)

The CBI on Thursday filed a charge sheet against former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh and others in connection with its probe into the Rs 100 crore bribery allegations levelled by former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh against him, officials said. The move comes a day after a special court in Mumbai allowed a plea of dismissed police officer Sachin Waze to turn an approver and seek pardon in the case.

In his application filed before the special CBI court, Waze claimed he had co-operated with the CBI before and after his arrest, following which his confessional statement was recorded before a magistrate under provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). The CBI has filed its charge sheet before a special court in Mumbai against Deshmukh and his personal staff members Sanjeev Palande and Kundan Shinde under charges of criminal conspiracy and provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act.

The agency had booked Deshmukh and others under IPC sections related to criminal conspiracy and section of Prevention of Corruption Act for "attempt to obtain undue advantage for improper and dishonest performance of public duty". After he was removed from Mumbai Police Commissioner's post, Singh, in a letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, had alleged Deshmukh had asked him to extort over Rs 100 crore a month from bars and restaurants of Mumbai, they said.

"The preliminary enquiry prima facie revealed that a cognizable offence is made out in the matter, wherein the then home minister of Maharashtra, Anil Deshmukh and unknown others have attempted to obtain undue advantage for improper and dishonest performance of their public duty," the CBI FIR has alleged.