MUMBAI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) today arrested former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh’s lawyer, Anand Daga after they arrested one of their own sub-inspector, Abhishek Tiwari, on Wednesday for allegedly leaking the agency’s investigation into Deshmukh’s corruption charges.

Along with Tiwari and Daga, Deshmukh's son-in-law Gaurav Chaturvedi was also detained by CBI officials on Wednesday for inquiring into the leak of the report. Subsequently, Chaturvedi was allowed to go, however, Daga and Tiwari were arrested for charges of trying to subvert Bombay High Court's directed preliminary enquiry against the former minister. 

The agency has allegedly unearthed that Tiwari was given illegal gratification by the Daga and other accused in exchange for the internal documents of CBI.

The CBI had initiated a preliminary investigation on allegations of corruption against Deshmukh on the orders of the Bombay High Court in April 2021. 

The HC had taken cognisance on a clutch of petitions made against Deshmukh especially by former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh, another by a city-based lawyer Jayshree Patil, and by a teacher Mohan Bhide and had said that an unbiased probe was required to 'unearth the truth' of the allegations. 

Allegations against Deshmukh had surfaced after the removal of Singh after the role of the sacked policemen Sachin Waze surfaced into the case of an explosive-laden SUV which was found parked outside the residence of industrialist Mukesh Ambani. Waze was arrested by the National Investigation Agency and is behind bars since then. 

In his letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, after his removal, Singh had alleged Deshmukh had asked Waze to extort over Rs 100 crore a month from bars and restaurants of Mumbai, they said.

Soon after the April court orders, Deshmukh who is a Nationalistic Congress Party leader had resigned from the state cabinet.