The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has named controversial former cop Sachin Vaze, a key accused in the Antilia bomb scare and Mansukh Hiran murder case as the main accused in its chargesheet in the money laundering case concerning former state home minister Anil Deshmukh.
The agency has not named the NCP leader or his family members as accused, but has sought permission to file supplementary chargesheets. It said that the probe on specific roles and activities of various persons, including members of Deshmukh family, suspected to be involved in the offence, is likely to take time.
The chargesheet contains the statement of Deshmukh’s personal secretary Sanjeev Palande, presently in custody in the case. In his statement he has said that a cabinet minister in the state government used to handle references with regard to transfer and postings of police officers above the ACP rank for a political party since May 2020. That the minister would forward to Deshmukh the list containing their names and places where they have to be transferred along with names of MLA’s and MLC’s who had given such references. The list would be unofficial, he said, of which no record would be maintained at Deshmukh’s office. Palande said he would forward it to the Police Establishment Board on Deshmukh’s instructions.
Among witnesses are also DCP Raju Bhujbal and ACP Sanjay Patil attached to the Enforcement Branch that consists of the social service branch. Patil in his statement has said that he had met Vaze in the new CP office where 10 to 12 persons were already present. Vaze had introduced them as orchestra bar owners to him and after introducing him as ACP to them, he had asked them to leave. Further that Vaze had told him that he was collecting money from such businesses across Mumbai and that in another conversation with Vaze in March this year, Vaze told him that Deshmukh had asked him to collect the money.
The chargesheet also contains statements of restaurant and bar owners who have stated that Vaze had told them the money collected was going to “No.1”.
