Former minister Anil Deshmukh charged in bribery case

INDIA’S federal probe agency, CBI has registered an FIR against former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh in connection with allegations of bribery against him and carried out searches at various locations in Mumbai on Saturday, officials said.

The probe agency had carried out a preliminary enquiry on the orders of the Bombay High Court to look into bribery allegations against him levelled by former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh, they said.

According to the officials, during the enquiry, the CBI got enough prima facie material to start a formal probe by registering a regular case against Deshmukh and other unidentified persons under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

After registering the case, the CBI started a search operation at a number of locations, including the premises of Deshmukh, in Mumbai, they said.

On March 25, Param Bir Singh had filed criminal public interest litigation seeking a CBI probe against Deshmukh who, he claimed, had asked police officers, including suspended cop Sachin Waze, to extort $13.38m from bars and restaurants.