Anil Deshmukh sent to 14 day judicial custody

Former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh has been sent to a 14-day judicial custody. The Enforcement Directorate's request to a Mumbai court to extend his custody with them for interrogation, was denied by the court. Deshmukh was presented before a holiday court on Saturday. He  was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) last Monday after 12 hours of questioning. The agency is probing the Rs100 crore extortion case against Deshmukh based on an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation.

The ED called Deshmukh's son Hrishikesh for questioning on Thursday. The agency had asked Hrishikesh to appear before it on Friday but he did not, said ED officials. On Saturday, Hrishikesh moved the sessions court and filed a petition for anticipatory bail. ED officials said its investigation revealed that through hawala channels, this money was sent to the Delhi-based Surendra Kumar Jain and Virendra Jain who operated bogus companies. The Jain brothers are alleged to have diverted this money as donations to Nagpur-based Shri Sai Shikshan Sansthan, a trust controlled by the Deshmukh family. ED officials suspect that the Jain brothers were acting on instructions of Deshmukh’s son Hrishikesh Deshmukh and want to record his statement.