Mumbai: A special court on Friday permitted the plea of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to question dismissed police officer Sachin Vaze who is lodged in Taloja jail in connection with the corruption case registered against former state home minister Anil Deshmukh.
The agency had approached the court on Thursday with the plea. Vaze is in custody in the Antilla security scare and Mansukh Hiran murder case. Last week, the agency had sought direction from the court that statements of four witnesses in the corruption case against Deshmukh be recorded before a magistrate. The court had allowed the plea the same day.
The CBI had initiated a preliminary inquiry upon the direction of the Bombay High Court after a petition by former city police chief Param Bir Singh on a CBI probe over allegations he made against Deshmukh in a letter to the chief minister. In this letter, he had alleged that Deshmukh interfered in transfer postings of police officers and engaged in extorting bars and restaurants in the city through Vaze.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) which registered a complaint pursuant to the CBI’s FIR in the case, is probing money laundering in connection with the matter. It recently arrested the former minister’s personal secretary and personal assistant, who are currently under its custodial interrogation.
