Former Maharashtra deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal received a major setback on Friday when a Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court denied him bail in a money laundering case registere
Former Maharashtra deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal received a major setback on Friday when a Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court denied him bail in a money laundering case registered against him by the Enforcement Directorate.
Bhujbal (69) had sought bail on health grounds saying he had multiple problems, including diabetes, blood pressure, chronic asthma and blockages in heart. However, designated Judge of PMLA court P.R. Bhavake rejected the bail application after the ED objected to it, saying investigations were still on and he was getting proper treatment in government hospital. ED lawyer Purnima Kantharia opposed Bhujbal’s bail saying the diseases cited by Bhujbal in the bail petition are not new and he has been living with them for the past 15 years. He has been given proper medical treatment and the prosecution would provide the best medical doctors to treat him, she said.
Bhujbal was arrested on March 14 by the ED on the charge of money laundering. The senior NCP leader pleaded that he was in custody for nearly two months and was suffering from multiple health problems for which he needed to undergo treatment.
Bhujbal is currently lodged in Central prison at Arthur Road here along with his nephew and former MP, Sameer who was also arrested in the same case on similar charges.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau had filed FIRs against Bhujbal over the construction of Maharashtra Sadan in Delhi in awarding the contract of state central library in Kalina campus of Mumbai University.
