In its detailed order rejecting the bail of Kundan Shinde, the personal assistant of former Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, the special court has said that there is prima facie evidence that he extorted money from the dismissed Mumbai Police officer Sachin Waje on the instructions of Deshmukh.
The ED has made Deshmukh, Veje and Shinde, among others, accused in the case. It had opposed the grant of bail to Shinde, saying he was instrumental in the collection and laundering of bribes collected from bars. Shinde is also a trustee in the trust run by Deshmukh’s family.
The court relied on Vaze’s statement in which he claimed that Deshmukh had called him in January and directed him to hand over the cash collected from the bar to Shinde. Shinde then called Veje and met him outside the Sahyadri guest house and took Rs 1.6 crore from him. Vaze had said that in February he met again on Deshmukh’s instructions and handed over Rs 3 crore.
“Thus, from the statement of Mr. Sachin Vaze, it is clear that the said money, about Rs.4.7 crore, which he handed over to the applicant Kundan Shinde, was illegal recovery from various bar owners across Mumbai. Whatever he did as per the instructions of Mr. Anil Deshmukh. The same is nothing but the proceeds of the crime,” said special judge MG Deshpande.
Shinde’s counsel had said that there was no evidence other than Vaze’s statement and it could not be relied upon. The court said that merely because Vaze “is not a person of good conduct”, as argued by the defense counsel, his statement cannot be dismissed.
“The applicant has not disputed anywhere close to Mr. Anil Deshmukh as his personal personal assistant. The collection of bribe or illegal amount is basically a secret process. There cannot be direct evidence regarding the union of mind for such purposes. Inference has to be drawn from the circumstances of the transaction, which are on record,” the court said.
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