The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)  filed a charge sheet in a corruption case registered against former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh and others.

The charge sheet was filed before a special court in Mumbai against Deshmukh and his personal staff members Sanjeev Palande and Kundan Shinde under charges of criminal conspiracy and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

This comes a day after a special court in Mumbai agreed to let dismissed police officer Sachin Waze become an approver and seek pardon in the corruption case.

In his plea, Waze claimed that he had co-operated with the CBI before and after his arrest, following which his confessional statement was recorded before a magistrate under provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).

The CBI case in which he was allowed to turn approver was registered by the agency on April 21, 2021, following bribery allegations levelled by former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh against him in a letter written to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on March 20.

In the letter, Singh had alleged that Deshmukh instructed certain Mumbai police officers, including Waze, to extort over Rs 100 crore a month from bars and restaurants of Mumbai.

The agency had booked Deshmukh and others under sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) related to criminal conspiracy and section of the Prevention of Corruption Act for “attempt to obtain undue advantage for improper and dishonest performance of public duty”.

“The preliminary enquiry prima facie revealed that a cognizable offence is made out in the matter, wherein the then home minister of Maharashtra, Anil Deshmukh and unknown others have attempted to obtain undue advantage for improper and dishonest performance of their public duty,” the CBI has alleged in its FIR against Deshmukh and others.