Ex-Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh's two aides remanded in ED custody till 1 July

Mumbai: A court in Mumbai on Saturday remanded two aides of former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh in Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody till 1 July in connection with a money laundering case lodged against the NCP politician. Deshmukh’s personal secretary Sanjeev Palande and personal assistant Kundan Shinde were arrested after about nine hours of questioning under provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), an official said on Saturday. The duo was produced before a court in Mumbai, which remanded them in ED custody. In a letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray after he was removed from the post of Mumbai police commissioner, IPS officer Param Bir Singh had alleged that Deshmukh, state home minister at the time, had directed dismissed policeman Sachin Waze to extort over Rs 100 crore per month from bars and restaurants in Mumbai. The ED case against Deshmukh and others is borne out after the CBI first carried out a preliminary enquiry (PE), followed by the filing of a regular case on the orders of the Bombay High Court. The CBI had booked Deshmukh and others under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections related to criminal conspiracy and the Prevention of Corruption Act for “attempt to obtain undue advantage for the improper and dishonest performance of public duty”.