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India: Former home minister arrested on corruption charges

Mumbai - He had allegedly demanded Rs1 billion as bribes from restaurants and bars in Mumbai.

India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered an FIR against Anil Deshmukh, the former Maharashtra home minister, and carried out searches at multiple locations in the state on Saturday.

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Deshmukh, a key member of Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), was forced to quit the top position after Param Bir Singh, a senior police officer, filed a petition claiming that the minister had demanded Rs1 billion as bribes from restaurants and bars in Mumbai.

Singh was kicked out of his position as Mumbai police commissioner by Deshmukh, who however, had to quit as minister as the case took a sensational turn.

Sachin Waze, a junior police officer, who was suspended, later confirmed that the NCP leader had asked him to collect funds from bars and restaurants in the city. He also claimed that the minister demanded Rs20 million from him for getting him reinstated into the force.

The Bombay High Court directed the CBI to investigate the charges against the former minister. On Wednesday, the agency charged Deshmukh under the amended Prevention of Corruption Act. It also questioned him and his aides.