Findings of probe to take a few more days
Though 15 days have passed since the CBI registered a preliminary enquiry (PE) against former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh on the orders of Bombay high court to investigate allegations of corruption and extortion, the agency may take few more days to conclude its findings, two people familiar with the development said. The reasons for not concluding the preliminary probe are the complex nature of the investigation, CBI’s internal mechanism of reviewing a case at various levels, and unforeseen delays due to surge in Covid19 cases, they said. “The Supreme Court order doesn’t mention that we have to mandatorily finalise the PE in 15 days. It says we must enquire the allegations as soon as possible, preferably in 15 days,” said one of the officers cited above.
NEW DELHI: Though 15 days have passed since the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a preliminary enquiry (PE) against former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh on the orders of the Bombay high court to investigate allegations of corruption and extortion, the agency may take a few more days to conclude its findings, two people familiar with the development said on Tuesday.
The reasons for not concluding the preliminary probe are the complex nature of the investigation, CBI’s internal mechanism of reviewing a case at various levels, and unforeseen delays due to surge in Covid-19 cases, they said, adding that the agency does not want to rush its probe though it has recorded the statements of most of the key people in last two weeks.
“The SC order doesn’t mention that we have to mandatorily finalise the PE in 15 days. It says we must enquire the allegations as soon as possible, preferably in 15 days,” said one of the officers cited above. Deshmukh, who resigned as Maharashtra’s home minister, has consistently denied any wrongdoing.