Third Time : Fresh Summons Issued To Anil Deshmukh To Appear Before ED On July 5

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Former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh has been issued fresh summons by the ED for appearance on July 5 in a money laundering case investigation being conducted against him and others, officials said .

They said this is the third notice issued to the NCP leader for deposing before the investigating officer of the case. Deshmukh has been asked to record his statement at the central agency’s office in south Mumbai on Monday.

Deshmukh (72), had skipped the two earlier summons citing his “vulnerability” to COVID-19 as the reason for non-compliance in his last communication to the agency.

He instead offered the Enforcement Directorate to record his statement through video conferencing.

The summons are in connection with the criminal case registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act related to an alleged Rs 100 bribery-cum-extortion racket that led to Deshmukh’s resignation in April this year.

The first summons followed raids conducted by the ED at his premises in Mumbai and Nagpur apart from that of his aides and some others last month.

The agency subsequently arrested two of his aides in this case, personal secretary Sanjeev Palande (51) and personal assistant Kundan Shinde (45).

They are in ED custody till July 6.