In a case related to the leakage of a confidential report granting an alleged clean chit to former Maharashtra minister Anil Deshmukh, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has claimed that a close associate of Deshmukh attempted to track the location of CBI officers investigating bribery allegations against him. The CBI made these allegations in its charge sheet.
The draft report, indicating the purported exoneration of Anil Deshmukh, facing extensive bribery accusations, was leaked to the media on August 29, 2021. Subsequently, the CBI arrested Anil Deshmukh’s lawyer, Anand Daga, and the agency’s Sub-Inspector Abhishek Tiwari, who were later charge-sheeted in the same year.
In the supplementary charge sheet filed in August of this year, the CBI contends that Daga shared the mobile numbers of the CBI investigating officer and supervisory officers involved in the bribery case against Anil Deshmukh with his distant relative Vikrant Deshmukh on June 7, 2021. According to the CBI, Vikrant Deshmukh managed the ex-minister’s financial accounts under the guise of an education trust.
The CBI alleges that Vikrant Deshmukh was part of the conspiracy to leak the confidential documents. On June 8, 2021, Daga allegedly tasked Vikrant Deshmukh with obtaining the locations of the CBI officers, and Vikrant Deshmukh agreed to do so, according to the agency. The supplementary charge sheet claims that Vikrant Deshmukh was involved in the conspiracy with Daga to subvert the ongoing CBI investigation by illegally procuring the confidential document and attempting to track the movements of the investigating and supervisory officers.
Counsels representing Vikrant Deshmukh informed the special court that he had no connection with the alleged offense mentioned in the charge sheet and had been falsely implicated in the case.
The leaked report pertained to a preliminary enquiry registered by the CBI on April 6, 2021, against Anil Deshmukh, who was then the Maharashtra home minister. The inquiry was initiated on the directives of the Bombay High Court following corruption allegations leveled by former Mumbai Police commissioner Param Bir Singh against Anil Deshmukh.
The internal draft report of the agency, which contradicted the PE findings and stated that no cognizable offense was made out against Anil Deshmukh, was leaked to the media four months later. This triggered a political uproar, with opposition parties accusing the CBI of conducting a biased probe against Anil Deshmukh.
Following the leak, the CBI filed a supplementary charge sheet in August, naming Anil Deshmukh’s daughter Pooja, daughter-in-law Rahat, Vikrant Deshmukh, and Sayajeet Wayal as conspirators, outlining their alleged roles in the conspiracy to leak the documents. All the accused were granted bail by the special court.
