Ambani Case Row: Param Bir Singh Removed As Mumbai Police Chief

Hemant Nagrale (right) has been appointed as the new commissioner of Mumbai Police.

(Photo: The Quint)

Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh has been transferred and posted as the DG Home Guard, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deskhmukh announced on Wednesday, 17 March, amid the controversy over police officer Sachin Vaze in connection with the Mukesh Ambani bomb scare case.

Hemant Nagrale has been appointed as the new commissioner of Mumbai Police.

The transfer of Singh comes amid rising pressure on the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in the state over the alleged involvement of former API Sachin Vaze in the case related to explosives being discovered in an SUV outside Antilia on 25 February.

Vaze, who is believed to be Singh’s close aide, was allegedly associated with Mansukh Hiren, the owner of the SUV that was laden with explosives.

While Hiren had reported the SUV to be stolen days before it was discovered outside Antilia, his wife in an FIR lodged on 7 March has alleged that the car was in Vaze’s possession for months till it was returned to them on 5 February.

Singh Removed Amid Heightened Political Pressure

The development comes amid the Thackeray government facing rising pressure from the BJP-led Opposition in the state over Vaze’s alleged links to the Shiv Sena and his proximity with Singh.

The Sena has been defending Vaze ever since he got embroiled in the controversy, following which leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis had upped the ante against the MVA government in the state.

Several meetings were held in the past few days over the matter, with demands to remove Anil Deskhmukh as the Home Minister also on the rise.

Thackeray met ally and NCP supremo Sharad Pawar on Monday to discuss the matter wherein the removal of Singh had been pitched and discussed, sources had told The Quint.

Thackeray also met deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, state ministers Nitin Raut, Balasaheb Thorat, Varsha Gaikwad, Ashok Chavan and state Congress chief Nana Patole on Tuesday.

Responding to a query on possible action against Singh following the meeting ,Ajit Pawar on Tuesday had said that the government has no intention of protecting anybody.

“The chief minister said in the Assembly that if someone is doing anything wrong, the government will take immediate decision if there’s evidence. But no action will be taken against anyone until there is evidence. The government does not want to protect anyone,” ANI quoted him as saying.

Parambir Singh as CP: Handles Several High-Profile Cases Amid Pandemic

Singh took over as the Mumbai Police Commissioner on 29 February 2020, right before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the nationwide lockdown.

A 1988-batch IPS officer, Singh was the Director General (DG) of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) before his appointment as the Mumbai top cop.

In the one year since he took over the post, Singh handled several high profile and controversial cases. Singh has tackled heightened political pressure in several cases during the pandemic, the first being the probe in the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput.

While the case was eventually handed over to the CBI, Singh has till date backed the investigation of the Mumbai police in the matter, that came under scrutiny for alleged lapses.

During his tenure, Singh unearthed the alleged fake TRP scam case involving mediaperson Arnab Goswami and Republic TV. In this case too, Singh faced backlash from the BJP-led Opposition for alleged vendetta against Goswami with the backing of the Shiv Sena.

Singh has also been in the eye of the storm amid the Maharashtra government’s tussle with Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut and the Mumbai Police’s handling of the abetment of suicide case of architect Anvay Naik in association with the Raigad Police, in which Goswami is one of the prime accused.

While the Sena and the MVA government has backed Singh all along, the bomb scare case and his alleged proximity to Vaze, who has been arrested in the case, has proved to be the final nail in the coffin for his post as Mumbai Police Commissioner.