CBI books Deshmukh for framing BJP leaders in ‘false’ cases

The CBI has registered a fresh FIR against former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh for allegedly trying to frame BJP leaders in false cases, an official said on Wednesday. The CBI lodged the case after a two-year preliminary enquiry which originated from a pen drive handed over to the then Maharashtra Assembly Speaker by Devendra Fadnavis, who was then the LoP. The probe was handed over to the CID and later to the CBI.

The prima facie findings of the CBI preliminary enquiry show that Special Public Prosecutor Pravin Pandit Chavan conspired with one Vijay Bhaskarrao Patil, who acted as complainant, and the then Home Minister Deshmukh to file a zero FIR on December 9, 2020 at Nimbhora Jalgaon police station related to a two-year-old incident in Pune “to falsely implicate BJP leaders and others to wrest control of the Jalgaon Zilla Maratha Vidhya Prasarak Sahakari Samaj Limited (an educational institution),” the FIR alleged. Reacting to the development, Deshmukh termed the case as “baseless”.