‘What About Sanjiv Bhatt Case,’ Sena Asks BJP Amid Param Bir Row

“Some officers working for the state are also working for a particular party,” the ‘Saamana’ editorial said.

Uddhav Thackeray (L) and Devendra Fadnavis (R).

(Image: Eshwar Ranjana/The Quint)

As former Mumbai top cop Param Bir Singh approached the Supreme Court over corruption allegations against Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh and his alleged “malicious” transfer in the backdrop of the Mukesh Ambani bomb scare case, the Shiv Sena on Wednesday, 24 March, said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was working in cahoots with certain senior officers in the state in order to destabilise the state government.

Training guns at the Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh state governments, the Sena asked why similar allegations against law makers and home ministries in the BJP-ruled states were not being raised and probed.

“As far as Pandey and Singh conveyed their feelings via a letter, it was alright. But they made sure that the letters reach the media and that doubts are cast on the credibility of the government,” the editorial in the party mouthpiece Saamana said.

“In the backdrop of the alleged phone taps by senior officers like Subodh Jaiswal, Rashmi Shukla, the BJP leaders have reached Delhi. This clarifies that the officers working for the state government are also working for a particular political party,” it said, adding that Param Bir Singh has created a storm of allegations in order to save his skin.

‘What About Sanjeev Bhatt’s Allegations in Gujarat?’

In a bid to shift focus on similar cases in BJP-ruled states, the editorial brought up the case of IPS officer Sanjeev Bhatt.

“The allegations made by Param Bir Singh are serious and need to be probed, but the allegations made by Sanjeev Bhatt on lawmakers in Gujarat are equally shocking. What investigations were conducted on them? Bhatt revealed how certain lawmakers in Gujarat are corrupt and how they have been using the police force for illegal means. But in return, he was framed in a false case and put behind bars,” the Sena said.

“Even in Uttar Pradesh, a senior police officer Vaibhav Krishna had written a letter to CM Yogi and revealed the alleged malpractices by the home ministry in transfers. What was the action taken by the central home ministry in the matter? Will the BJP leaders in Maharashtra be able to answer this?” it added.

Sena further accused the BJP-led Opposition of spying on the state government using central mechanisms.

“Sharad Pawar brought forth the anomalies in Singh’s letter. The time at which Home Minister Deshmukh is alleged to have ordered the extortion, he was hospitalised and had addressed just one press conference after being discharged. The Opposition is now giving a timeline of Deshmukh’s whereabouts. The Opposition is using central government mechanisms to spy on the Maharashtra government and that’s illegal,” it said.

‘Singh Tried to Sideline Probe Into MP Mohan Delkar’s Death’

Defending Deshmukh over the suicide case of MP Mohan Delkar, in which Singh has alleged to have been pressurised to conduct a probe on some BJP leaders, the Sena said that Singh was trying to sideline the probe.

“Singh has alleged that Deshmukh had pressurised him to probe the death of MP Mohan Delkar. It wasn’t a pressure, but an order and the home minister isn’t at fault while doing so. Singh bringing this up is a clear sign that he is trying to protect somebody at the orders of the central government. The letter written by Mohan Delkar is being considered as proof and the home minister had to order further inquiry into it because Singh was trying to sideline the probe,” the Sena alleged.

The stand by Sena comes on a day when the Supreme Court refused to entertain the plea by Singh and asked him to approach the Bombay High Court.

Singh on Monday, 22 March, had filed a petition before the apex court against his transfer to the Home Guard Department by the Maharashtra government in the backdrop of the Mukesh Ambani bomb scare case and his alleged proximity to former API Sachin Vaze, who was arrested in the case.

Singh, in the plea, had also demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the alleged malpractices by Deshmukh. Singh has alleged that the state Home Minister in February held several meetings with junior police officers, including Vaze, and gave them a target of Rs 100 crore to be collected from bars, pubs, and other establishments.