Meanwhile, the ex-minister’s son Hrishikesh Deshmukh approached the court with an anticipatory bail plea in the case filed by the ED. The court has posted the matter for final hearing on November 12, refusing to grant interim relief till then. According to reports, the ED had summoned Hrishikesh for questioning on Friday.

The probe agency had arrested Deshmukh on November 2 under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), almost six months after it first registered a case against him.

The ED’s case is based on the first information report (FIR) filed by the CBI in April 2021 alleging corruption and bribery by the then minister. During its probe, the ED found that Deshmukh, while acting as the home minister, “received illegal gratification of approximately Rs 4.7 crore in cash from various orchestra bar owners” between December 2020 and February 2021 through the now-dismissed Mumbai police assistant inspector Sachin Waze.

The CBI’s FIR came after former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh alleged that Deshmukh had asked police officers, including Waze, to collect Rs 100 crore, including Rs 40-50 crore each month from 1,750 bars and restaurants in Mumbai.

Waze on Saturday was sent in additional police custody till November 13 in connection with an extortion case. He had been lodged at the Taloja Jail for his alleged involvement in the Ambani security scare case. The Mumbai Police crime branch had taken custody of the former cop on November 1 to probe into a complaint filed by a restaurant owner alleging that the accused had extorted money for smooth functioning of two eateries. A total of Rs 11.92 lakh was allegedly taken from the complainant.