New Delhi: Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Monday stepped down from his post. This comes after Bombay High Court asking the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to start a preliminary inquiry within 15 days into corruption allegations against Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh by former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh.
The court was hearing a plea of the petitioner Dr Jaishri Patil regarding the matter.
According to sources, NCP leader Dilip Walse Patil is expected to replace Deshmukh as the new home minister of Maharashtra. Patil is currently serving as minister of excise and labour department in the Uddhav Thakeray cabinet.
Maharashtra: अनिल देशमुख के इस्तीफे के बाद दिलीप पाटिल होंगे महाराष्ट्र के अगले गृह मंत्री#Maharashtra pic.twitter.com/KZpsPkjMv4
— Newsroom Post (@NewsroomPostCom) April 5, 2021
The developments come after Bombay High Court on Monday ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to start a preliminary inquiry within 15 days into corruption allegations against Deshmukh by the former Mumbai Police Commissioner.
The court also directed the agency to register an FIR if any cognizable offence is found. The court also stated that Anil Deshmukh is the Home Minister and no impartial probe can be done by the police.
In his plea, Param Bir Singh repeated the graft allegations that he had made against Deshmukh in a letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, and also accused the Maharashtra Home Minister of interfering in police investigations and involving in severe “malpractices”.
Singh had earlier written a letter to Thackeray alleging that Deshmukh had indulged in “malpractices” and asked suspended Assistant Police Inspector Sachin Waze to collect Rs 100 crores every month.
