The Enforcement Directorate has issued a fresh summon to Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra transport minister Anil Parab for questioning in the money laundering case registered against former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh and others.
The 56 years old Anil Parab, who also holds an additional portfolio of parliamentary affairs in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) led by chief minister Uddhav Thackery, has been directed to appear before the south Mumbai office of ED on September 28.
ED on September 6 had also called Regional Transport Office (RTO) officer Bajrang Kharmate for questioning in this case, who is said to be close to the minister.
This is the second summon the ED has issued to Anil Parab. The ED had issued him the first summon on August 31, but he had declined to appear citing official engagements.
The ED wants to question transport minister Anil Parab in connection with the Rs 100 crore bribery cum extortion racket in the Maharashtra police establishment as alleged by former police commissioner Param Bir Singh. The Bombay High Court had asked the CBI to probe the allegations of corruption that had led to the resignation of Anil Deshmukh as home minister in April.
The name of Anil Parab has surfaced among key conspirators of this scam. The disgraced former cop Sachin Vaze in his letter to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had named ministers Anil Parab and Anil Deshmukh besides others for running an extortion racket, alleging that he was asked to collect extortion money from businesses.
Sachin Vaze had claimed that in the month of July/August 2020, he was called to the official bungalow of Anil Parab. During the meeting, Anil Parab told Sachin Vaze to extort Rs 50 crores from officials of Saifee Burhani Upliftment Trust (SBUT) to end an inquiry. Sachin Vaze further stated that in January 2021, Anil Parab once again called him at his official bungalow and asked to look into the fraudulent contractors listed with BMC. Anil Parab asked him to collect at least Rs 2 crores each from 50 such contractors.
Later, Param Bir Singh had confirmed that Sachin Vaze had informed him about the same after he was removed from the post of Mumbai Police Commissioner.
In the letter, Sachin Vaze had claimed that Bajrang Kharmate handled transfer posting related work for Anil Parab. Last month, ED carried out searches at premises Bajrang Kharmate in Pune.
This three-time Shiv Sena MLA, who is a lawyer by profession, was inducted into the MVA cabinet in December 2019.
