Money laundering case: Ex-Maha minister Anil Deshmukh's aide Kundan Shinde gets bail

Mumbai: A special court here on Wednesday granted bail to Kundan Shinde, an aide of former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh, in a money laundering case being probed by the Enforcement Directorate.

Shinde, however, will remain in jail as he is also an accused in a corruption case being probed by the CBI.

The Enforcement Directorate in June 2021 arrested Shinde, who worked as the personal assistant of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Deshmukh when he was the state home minister, for his alleged role in the money laundering case.

Special Judge R N Rokade on Wednesday allowed Shinde's bail plea.

The other accused in the case include Anil Deshmukh and dismissed police officer Sachin Waze.

Deshmukh is out on bail. Waze continues to be in judicial custody.

In the bail application, filed through advocate Inderpal Singh, Shinde had said his arrest and continued incarceration in custody was a "gross abuse" of the process of law.

The ED has claimed Waze, in his statement, stated Deshmukh introduced him to Shinde during a meeting at the then home minister's official residence.

The ED's case is that Deshmukh, while serving as the home minister, misused his official position and collected Rs 4.70 crore from various bars and restaurants in Mumbai through Waze.

The money was allegedly laundered through the Nagpur-based Shri Sai Shikshan Sanstha, an education trust controlled by Deshmukh's family.

Deshmukh had refuted the allegations and claimed the agency's whole case was based on malicious statements made by Waze.