Anil Deshmukh compiled a list of potential cop postings: Chargesheet ED Claims | Exclusive

According to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh used to compile a list of names of police officers and government officials for postings.
 
anil deshmukh

In its charge sheet, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) accused former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh of drafting a list of names of police personnel and bureaucrats for postings while he was a member of the cabinet.

According to the ED charge sheet, Anil Deshmukh admitted to passing on the list of police officials and their locations. They were assigned to the ACS (Additional Chief Secretary, Home Department) and the Head of the Police Establishment Board (PEB).

Anil Deshmukh is being investigated for alleged extortion and corruption.

The connection between Anil Deshmukh and Sachin Vaze

The ED probe indicated that Anil Deshmukh played a critical role in Sachin Vaze's reinstatement after a 16-year suspension. Vaze, a former assistant police inspector, was appointed head of the Mumbai Police's Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU). He was tasked with various dramatic investigations to extort money through him.

The ED probe further revealed that Anil Anil Deshmukh used to call Vaze to his official residence on a daily basis to brief him on various matters and give him instructions.

According to the ED probe, Anil Anil Deshmukh directed Vaze to collect money from as many as 1750 bars and restaurants across Mumbai.

Also, on Anil Deshmukh's orders, Vaze harassed and pressured bar owners to pay Rs 3 lakh apiece for operating during the Covid-19 outbreak, when the government had imposed time limitations on bars and restaurants.

From December 2020 to February 2021, Vaze got Rs 4.70 crore from Orchestra bar owners.

While Anil Deshmukh's personal secretary Kundan Shinde took the money - Rs 4.70 crore in cash - from Vaze on his behalf. In his statement to the ED, Vaze confessed this and stated that he handed over the cash to Shinde on the orders of Anil Deshmukh.

Shinde is a member of the Shri Sai Shikshan Sanstha, which is where the extorted money was stored.

Corruption and postings

Suryankant Palande, one of the defendants in the ED case, served as Anil Deshmukh's personal secretary and passed on instructions for police officer transfers and postings, as well as money collection from orchestra bars, through police officials.

Palande aided Anil Deshmukh in money laundering activities, according to police officers who were summoned to Dnyaneshwari, Anil Deshmukh's official residence.

The ED probe also revealed that Anil Deshmukh's sons, Salil and Hrishikesh, transferred unlawful gratification through paper or shell firms, which were then infused into the family's educational trust.

According to the ED, Anil Deshmukh and his family members used shell firms to purchase multiple properties using unaccounted revenue.