JOIN USAnil Deshmukh ducks ED date again, fearing lack of 'transparency' in investigation
Even as he moved the Supreme Court seeking protection against coercive action by the Enforcement Directorate, former Maharashtra home minister and senior NCP leader Anil Deshmukh refrained from appearing before the agency saying that the probe against him was not transparent.
In a letter to ED’s Mumbai-based assistant director Tassine Sultan, Deshmukh said: “…I have devoted my entire life to public service and will not hesitate to render any assistance that may be required in the conduct of the ongoing investigations. However, a series of events have given rise to a bonafide apprehension in my mind that neither the procedure of law is being followed nor any objective, impartial or transparent investigations are being carried out.”
This is the third time that Deshmukh has failed to appear before the ED, which is probing money-laundering charges vis-à-vis a complaint made by former Mumbai Police commissioner and now commandant general of home guards Param Bir Singh. The former police chief had alleged that the then minister fixed a monthly collection target of Rs 100 crore for now dismissed and arrested assistant police inspector Sachin Vaze.
Deshmukh (72), who has been active in Maharashtra politics for a quarter of a century, is close to NCP supremo Sharad Pawar.
The veteran politician, in the 8-page letter, said that he apprehends invasion of his liberty by circumventing the process of law.
Deshmukh said that he has moved a petition in the Supreme Court which would be listed in few days and urged the ED to wait till the apex court delivers a judgment.
"I am sanguine that your good self will in fact dispel the impression of any bias or prejudice that has accumulated in my mind by carrying out investigations in a more transparent and objective manner. I am only taking recourse to my legal remedies in view of the peculiarities of the circumstances," he said.
While Deshmukh was summoned to appear on Monday, his son Hrishikesh Deshmukh has been called on Tuesday.