Anil Deshmukh 'pressured' to register FIR against Girish Mahajan, says CBI report in Pune court

Girish Mahajan. File Pic

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has submitted its report to the MCOCA court in Maharashtra's Pune, alleging that the case registered against BJP leader and current Minister of Rural Development, Girish Mahajan, was due to pressure from former state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh.

The CBI's report includes a statement of a former SP of Jalgaon, who claimed that Anil Deshmukh pressured him, calling three times to register the FIR despite it being outside his jurisdiction.

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The SP, an IPS rank officer, is currently posted in Mumbai.

A case was registered against Girish Mahajan and 28 others on charges of causing grievous hurt to extract a confession, kidnapping, extortion, theft, criminal trespass, and other offenses under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sections of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). The FIR, initially filed by Vijay Patil in 2020 as a Zero FIR at the Jalgaon police station, was later transferred to Pune's Kothrud police station, where the alleged incident occurred.

According to the complaint, Patil, one of the directors of the Jilha Maratha Vidyaprasarak Sahakari Samaj, a cooperative educational organization operating various colleges and institutes in Jalgaon district, claimed he was asked to resign from his director post, kidnapped in Pune, taken to a flat, and threatened with dire consequences.

The FIR was registered during the tenure of the MVA government. After the CM Shinde-led government came to power, the case was handed over to the CBI in July 2022.

According to sources, a few days ago, the CBI submitted a report to the MCOCA court, including a statement from the then-SP of Jalgaon. The SP claimed he was pressured by Anil Deshmukh to register an FIR against Girish Mahajan. According to the SP's statement, he received a call from Deshmukh before the complainant, Vijay Bhaskarrao Patil, arrived. Deshmukh reportedly instructed him that Special Public Prosecutor Praveen Chavan would come to brief him and insisted that the FIR be filed as per his orders.

The SP stated that he advised Chavan and the complainant to approach the Pune City Police, as the incident did not fall within Jalgaon's jurisdiction. Despite this, the complainant refused to comply and former SPs efforts to explain the situation to Deshmukh were reportedly met with further pressure.

In his statement, the IPS officer further stated that Anil Deshmukh made several calls demanding action. After persistent threats, he eventually informed the then Nashik IG Law and Order and ADG Law and Order about the situation. Despite there being no immediate urgency, the FIR was registered under Deshmukh's pressure.

"The zero FIR was got registered forcibly though there was no urgency to register the same at Jalgaon due to want of Jurisdiction and there was a lapse of approximately 03 years in the alleged date of incident." reads the CBI report.