Chhagan Bhujbal's son Pankaj surrenders before special PMLA court, released on bail

Pankaj Bhujbal, son of former Maharashtra deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal, on Saturday surrendered before the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court, and was immediately released on bail. Pankaj is accused of alleged money laundering charges in a case in which his father is also an accused.

Advocate Shalabh Saxena, who is appearing on behalf of Pankaj, maintained that Pankaj was shown as an accused in the PMLA case by the Enforcement Directorate, and so a process was issued against him by the court.

"After the process was issued, he was later granted interim protection against arrest, and thus he was not arrested. Till date he was not arrested in the case, which meant that his custody was clearly not required. Thus, he approached the Sessions court and surrendered himself. Further, he was also granted bail on cash surety of Rs 2 lakhs,"said Saxena.

The Enforcement Directorate had earlier arrested Chhagan Bhujbal and his nephew Sameer Bhujbal in the alleged money laundering case. Chhagan Bhujbal was arrested on March 14, 2016 in connection with the irregularities committed in the Maharashtra Sadan case, a guest house which was raised in Delhi. Bhujbal allegedly also received kickbacks in connection with the state central library raised in the Kalina campur of Mumbai university.