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After Maharashtra Governor sanctioned an ED investigation against NCP-SCP leader Anil Deshmukh, he criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), claiming that the Centre is ruled by a party which is supposed to allow prosecution against him.
"Whose government is it? The government belongs to the party that is the one supposed to grant permission for the prosecution against me," he remarked. The case dates back to 2021, when then Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh, in a letter dated March 20, 2021, to then Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, alleged that Deshmukh had instructed suspended police officer Sachin Waze and other police officials to collect Rs 100 crore every month from bars and restaurants in the city. The ED subsequently launched a money laundering investigation based on the allegations. Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate has informed a special court in Mumbai that it has received the Maharashtra Governor's sanction to prosecute former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh in the alleged money laundering case linked to the extortion of funds from bars and restaurants. According to the ED, the Governor granted sanction for prosecution on May 21, clearing the legal requirement to proceed against Deshmukh under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The sanction letter was submitted before the special court on Monday by ED Special Public Prosecutor Sunil Gonsalves. The approval paves the way for trial proceedings in the high-profile PMLA case arising from allegations that Deshmukh directed police officials to collect illegal monthly payments from bars and restaurants in Mumbai. (ANI)
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