Didn't prepare 'separate report' on Antilia bomb scare case as claimed by Anil Deshmukh: ATS tells probe panel

Anil Deshmukh. File Pic

There is no "separate report or notings" pertaining to the Antilia bomb scare and Mansukh Hiran murder case as claimed by Anil Deshmukh, the Maharashtra ATS told the commission probing corruption allegations against the former state home minister.

The Anti-Terrorism Squad had initially probed the bomb scare case wherein an SUV laden with explosives was found parked near "Antilia", the south Mumbai residence of industrialist Mukesh Ambani, in last February and the subsequent murder of businessman Mansukh Hiran, who purportedly owned that SUV. The probe was later taken over by the National Investigating Agency (NIA) which arrested Mumbai police officer Sachin Waze (now suspended) and others.

During his deposition before Justice KU Chandiwal (retd) Commission, Deshmukh had urged that the ATS be directed to submit the "investigation paper, a note and other case documents" pertaining to the Antilia case, which he said would reveal the "ultimate truth".

As directed by the commission, investigation papers related to the probe were submitted by the ATS. Deshmukh's lawyer Prashant Pawar said that apart from the investigation papers prepared by the ATS, a request was also made for calling/summoning material and other notes to unearth the truth. Responding to Pawar's contention, the ATS officer, who was present before the commission, told the commission that ATS neither prepared any separate report and notings nor forwarded it to the government. The commission then asked the ATS officer to put the same into writing, which he complied with.

The commission is probing the allegations of corruption levelled against Deshmukh, a senior NCP leader, by Param Bir Singh after he was shunted out as Mumbai police commissioner last year. Singh, now suspended, was transferred from the post of Mumbai police commissioner in March 2021 following the Antilia bomb scare episode. He then wrote a letter to Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray alleging that Deshmukh had asked select police officers to collect Rs 100 crore per month from bars and restaurants in Mumbai, a charge denied by the NCP leader.

Deshmukh resigned from the state cabinet in April last year. He is currently in judicial custody after being arrested by the ED in a money laundering case. The federal anti-money laundering agency had launched a probe against Deshmukh and his associates after the CBI filed an FIR against him on April 21, 2021 based on allegations raised by Singh. The one-member commission was set up in March last year by the Maharashtra government.

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