On Sunday morning, a fire started in the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) zone-1 headquarters in south Mumbai’s Ballard Estate. Concerns were raised that investigation data for a number of high-profile cases, including those involving politicians Chhagan Bhujbal and Anil Deshmukh, as well as fugitive businessmen Mehul Choksi and Nirav Modi, may have been lost while the fire raged for nearly ten hours. There were no recorded casualties.
Significant damage was reported to office infrastructure, including computers and documentation, though it is unclear how this will affect ongoing investigations. The complete scope of the damage is presently being evaluated. Despite the fact that the office maintained both digital and physical investigative records, the majority of the documents were digitised, which would enable the agency to retrieve them, according to a report. While keeping copies for itself, the ED has turned in the court the original investigation documents of cases with filed chargesheets. The ED has booked witnesses to testify at its office, and the incident will probably affect how they are questioned.
The fourth-floor mezzanine, which houses administrative records, is where the fire started. According to a report, the fire was contained to the fourth floor and mezzanine, which house the offices of numerous senior personnel, including the head of the Mumbai zonal unit. A short circuit is thought to have started the fire. Choksi, who was wanted in relation to the Punjab National Bank (PNB) loan fraud case of ₹13,850 crore, was taken into custody in Belgium earlier this month. The bank had filed criminal complaints with authorities against several individuals, including billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi and his uncle Choksi, the managing director of Gitanjali Gems, accusing them of defrauding the bank.
In November 2021, the ED detained Deshmukh in relation to a suspected money laundering investigation. After receiving an order from the High Court on April 5, 2021, the Central Bureau of inquiry (CBI) began a preliminary inquiry and filed a First Information Report (FIR) on April 21. The CBI’s investigation into Deshmukh’s financial transactions was a component of a larger investigation of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader’s alleged corruption by former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh.
Chhagan Bhujbal was arrested after an ED investigation uncovered that he and his associates had allegedly abused their position, resulting in financial losses to the government. According to the ED, Bhujbal awarded contracts for construction and development projects, including one for the Maharashtra Sadan in New Delhi, to a specific firm in exchange for kickbacks for himself and his family. The former deputy chief minister of Maharashtra and his nephew, Sameer Bhujbal, were accused by the investigation agency of channelling such funds to illicit businesses they owned. The ED’s appeal contesting the bail given to senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal in the money laundering case was denied by the Supreme Court in January.
