A special court that on Wednesday granted bail to Kundan Shinde, former personal assistant of ex-state home minister and NCP leader Anil Deshmukh, in a money laundering case in which both are accused, drew anadverse inference on the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and said that it has suppressed a material statement.
The special court’s judge RN Rokade said this in a detailed order made available late Wednesday night.
The court said it is “interesting to note” that the prosecution has suppressed the statement of a certain bar owner “for reasons best known”. It said it is the duty of the prosecution to place all the statements recorded during the investigation. Therefore, that adverse inference can be drawn against the ED.
The case revolves around the laundering of around Rs. 4.7 crores illegally collected by the tainted Vaze from restobar owners of the city on the alleged instructions of Deshmukh, who was then the state home minister.
Importantly, the court also raised “serious doubt” on whose behest the tainted money was collected. Judge Rokade said this based on statements of some bar owners who assumed that the Vaze was collecting it on instructions of the then city police chief Param Bir Singh. The court also mentioned the statement of ACP Sanjay Patil who said that Vazenamed Singhas the person he was collecting the amounts for
