Anil Deshmukh feels ED's investigation against him unjustified, hence not joining probe: Lawyer

Former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh feels that the Enforcement Directorates ED investigation against him in an alleged money laundering case is not justified and hence he is not joining the probe his lawyer said on WednesdayAddressing a press conference here Deshmukhs lawyer Kamlesh Ghumre also alleged that the ED investigation looks more like ldquoharassmentrdquo than a genuine probeThe ED had earlier issued multiple summonses to Deshmukh asking him to record his statement However the NCP leader 72 had skipped the summonses citing his vulnerability to Covid19 as the reason for noncompliance He has instead offered the central agency to record his statement through video conferencing Deshmukh has also moved the Supreme Court seeking protection from any coercive action in the caseThe ED case against Deshmukh and others was made out after the CBI booked him in a corruption case related to allegations of at least Rs 100 crore bribery made by former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh earlier this yearAlso Read Can Mumbai Police officers behind reinstating Waze claim impunity Bombay HC to CBI on Anil Deshmukhs pleaDeshmukh feels this investigation is not justified hence he is not joining the investigationWhatever documents the probe agency wants it should at least tell usrdquo advocate Ghumre saidAlthough there are digital platforms and other ways Deshmukh is being asked to directly join questioning he saidldquoEDs probe is looking like more of harassment and not a genuine investigationrdquo he allegedThe lawyer said summons were issued by the ED ldquoBut we have approached the Supreme Court for reliefrdquo the lawyer saidIn his letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray after he was removed from the police commissioners post Param Bir Singh had alleged that Deshmukh had asked now dismissed police officer Sachin Waze to extort over Rs 100 crore a month from bars and restaurants in MumbaiParam Bir Singhs allegations are not true In fact the high court has questioned Singh why he was silent for months the lawyer saidThe Bombay High court has reserved the order on the plea seeking quashing of the FIR filed by the CBI ldquoWe can expect the orders anytimerdquo he addedGhumre also alleged that the ED was selectively leaking information to the mediaHe further said that Waze has not mentioned anywhere in the affidavit filed before an inquiry commission that he has given money to DeshmukhWaze in his affidavit has never said that he met Anil Deshmukh in February The affidavit mentioned that he had just met Deshmukh just once Ghumre statedThe ED has arrested Deshmukhs personal secretary Sanjeev Palande and personal assistant Kundan Shinde in connection with the caseThey are currently in judicial custodyDeshmukh had resigned as a minister in April after the Bombay High Court directed the CBI to conduct a preliminary inquiry into allegations of corruptionThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever