CBI makes first arrests, gets custody of Deshmukh’s staffers, Waze till April 11

The CBI had last week sought permission from concerned courts to take the custody of Waze, Deshmukh, his personal assistant Kundan Shinde and personal secretary Sanjeev Palande, to probe allegations that the minister had instructed Waze to collect Rs 1 crore monthly from orchestra bars and restaurants.

Deshmukh, Shinde and Palande are lodged in Arthur Road jail, while Waze is in Taloja jail. The CBI told the court that when the investigation officer went to the jail on Monday to take the custody of Deshmukh, he came to know that he was admitted to the hospital on April 2. The officer had written an email to the jail authorities on April 1, informing them about the order of the court to grant Deshmukh’s custody in this case.

“Timings are very relevant. After the court allowed the CBI to take his custody and the investigation officer sent an email to the jail superintendent informing him of the order, the next day, Anil Deshmukh gets himself admitted to the hospital. What is this? This is nothing but to circumvent the process of law and evade order of the court. Despite having knowledge of courts orders, he intentionally and deliberately got himself admitted so that custody can be avoided and the investigation can be frustrated,” special public prosecutors Rajmohan Chand and Ratandeep Singh told the court.

The CBI sought directions to the jail and hospital authorities for a report on Deshmukh’s medical status. The court, however, said it cannot pass such directions at this juncture and that the investigation officer can make attempts on his own as per the recourse available in law.

While seeking custody of the other three accused who were produced before the court, the CBI said that Deshmukh and others have attempted to obtain undue advantage of their public duty.

It said that Waze was reinstated in the Mumbai Police force after 15 years and given important cases, which wasin the knowledge of Deshmukh.

It added that Deshmukh exercised undue influence over the transfer and posting of police officers and over the performance of their official duties. The CBI also submitted that it had recorded statements of witnesses as well as the confessional statement of Waze, recorded under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code before a magistrate, which corroborated the allegations that Deshmukh had sought illegal gratification.

The CBI had begun its probe into the case following orders from the Bombay High Court last year. While the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Deshmukh in the case last November, the CBI had not made any arrests so far.

As the agency sought to take the accused to Delhi to confront them in order to clarify some contradictions in the probe, Chand told the court, “The case has been registered in Delhi. The records are voluminous. Records cannot be removed from there. Such are the circumstances… the state government has not cooperated, it has time and again challenged our probe through petitions. Under such tremendous pressure and difficult situation, we cannot remove records from Delhi to maintain secrecy. Chand added that CBI wants to use “scientific techniques” in its probe.

Lawyer Sairuchita Chowdhary, representing Palande, told the court that the CBI, which has filed the FIR one year ago, had made its first arrest only now. She referred to the Supreme Court’s order on March 24, which had transferred the probe linked to former Mumbai Police commissioner Param Bir Singh to the CBI.

Lawyer Prashant Pawar, appearing for Shinde, also said that he had cooperated with the probe and his custody was not needed. Lawyer Raunak Naik, representing Waze, conceded for him to be sent to police custody. The court allowed the CBI the custody of Waze, Shinde and Palande till April 11.

On the CBI’s plea to allow the accused to be taken to Delhi, the court said that the investigation officer is at liberty to conduct investigation according to his wish in accordance with law.