Graft allegations: Anil Deshmukh grilled by CBI for 8 hrs

Mumbai, April 14 (IANS) Ex-Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh was grilled for over eight hours by two senior CBI officers on Wednesday in connection with the allegations of corruption levelled against him by former Mumbai Commissioner of Police Param Bir Singh, official sources said.

He was subjected to over three-dozen questions pertaining to Singh's accusations on alleged corruption in the home department which he had detailed in his 'letter-bomb' dated March 20.

The sources said that replying to most of the questions, Deshmukh reportedly contended that he was not involved in the matter and maintained that the allegations were levelled with political motives.

Deshmukh's grilling was part of the "preliminary enquiry" being conducted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), as ordered by the Bombay High Court, which needs to be completed within 15 days.

The senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader had reached the DRDO Guest House in Kalina at around 10 a.m. on Wednesday morning.

Earlier on Monday, the CBI had quizzed and recorded the statements of two of Deshmukh's aides -- Kundan Shinde and Sanjeev Palande.