Court extends Anil Deshmukh's judicial custody till May 13 in money laundering case

A special PMLA court on Friday has extended the judicial custody of former Maharashtra Minister Anil Deshmukh for 14 days in a money laundering case.

The former Maharashtra Minister will stay in judicial custody till May 13.

Earlier, a Special CBI court refused to grant further custody of the former Maharashtra Home Minister to the Central Bureau of Investigation after it sought his custody for a further three days.

Deshmukh and the other three accused were in the custody of the investigating agency from April 6 to 11 in connection with an alleged corruption and extortion case.

On April 8, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Bombay High Court stated that Deshmukh was the "mastermind" behind the money laundering case and that he had misused his official position to amass wealth.

The probe agency also alleged if Deshmukh is granted bail, he can tamper with the evidence.

Notably, the Former Maharashtra Home Minister was arrested by ED in November, last year in connection with the alleged Rs 100-crore extortion and money laundering case.

Former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh had accused Anil Deshmukh of asking dismissed assistant inspector Sachin Vaze to collect Rs 100 crore from hotels and bars in Mumbai every month. ED registered a case against Deshmukh and others based on a corruption case filed against him by the Central Bureau of Investigation.

Meanwhile, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested the dismissed Mumbai police officer Sachin Waze in March 2021 in connection with the investigation into the recovery of explosives from a car parked near Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani's house Antilia in Mumbai.

( With inputs from ANI )