Former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh on Monday skipped the Enforcement Directorate summons in the money laundering case registered against him. The Enforcement Directorate had issued the fourth summons to former Deshmukh and his son Hrishikesh Deshmukh to appear before it on Monday with a money laundering case probe. However, the former minister failed to appear before the ED. Anil Deshmukh sent a two-page letter as a reply to the ED through his Advocate Inderpal Singh.
Terming the summons a “brute abuse of power and authority”, senior NCP leader in his letter claimed that the fourth summons to him despite his matter being pending before the Supreme Court indicated that the investigation was not fair and impartial.
“With regard to the subject summons, at the outset, I may express my grave dismay, shock and concern especially to the timing of the issuance thereof. As you are well aware as a contesting respondent that the entire investigations being carried out by your office has been challenged by me before the Hon’ble Supreme Court. In the writ petition, I have vehemently urged that the very commencement and continuation of the investigations by your office are not only actuated with malice both in law as well as fact, but also the same stand vitiated on account of grave violation of the procedure established by law,” is what he stated in letter.
This is the fourth summon to Deshmukh as he had skipped the previous three. His son and wife too were summoned and they too did not appear. The agency had last month raided his premises in Mumbai and Nagpur apart from that of his aides and some others.