The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a fresh FIR against former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh, accusing him of attempting to frame BJP leaders in false cases. This action follows a two-year preliminary enquiry initiated after Devendra Fadnavis, then leader of the opposition, handed over a pen drive to the Maharashtra Assembly speaker.
The case centers around a December 2020 zero FIR, allegedly filed in Nimbhora Jalgaon police station, connected to a two-year-old incident in Pune. The FIR was later transferred to Pune in January 2021. According to the CBI, Special Public Prosecutor Pravin Pandit Chavan, in collaboration with Vijay Bhaskarrao Patil and Deshmukh, fabricated evidence to falsely implicate BJP leaders to gain control of the Jalgaon Zilla Maratha Vidhya Prasarak Sahakari Samaj Limited, an educational institution.
The CBI has named Deshmukh, Chavan, Patil, and former DCP Poornima Gaikwad and ACP Sushma Chavan as accused in the FIR. Deshmukh, responding to the development, dismissed the allegations as "baseless" and accused Fadnavis of engaging in "dirty politics" in Maharashtra. Deshmukh vowed to continue his fight against what he described as the "oppression" by the BJP.
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