Mumbai, Sep 1 (IANS): In a surprise development, a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) team picked up the son-in-law and lawyer of former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh late on Wednesday evening.

Nationalist Congress Party national spokesperson and Minorities Minister Nawab Malik said that Deshmukh's daughter, son-in-law, and daughter-in-law, were, along with their lawyer, going out this evening from their Worli residence.

"Suddenly, they were intercepted by around a dozen persons said to be from the CBI who asked them to step out of their car. They took away Deshmukh's son-in-law and lawyer into their vehicle, without any explanation," Malik said in a statement.

State Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant slammed the move terming it as "extremely serious".

"They were taken away without serving any notice. The laws are being trampled and the country is run by 'Modi-shahi' - 'Whatever we say is the law', the Modi government should officially declare," he alleged.

Malik said that they were taken away "illegally, without any prior intimation or notice", raising questions if there is rule of the law in the country or the law of the rulers.

"The CBI must clarify under what laws and norms the action was taken without following the due process of law," he demanded.

The development happened even as a delegation of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, and Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat called on Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari to discuss various issues.

It comes barely four days after a purported CBI 'clean chit' given to Deshmukh ostensibly 'leaked' out in the media, which was later vehemently refuted by the central agency.