“At the outset, the petitioner submits that he is being merely made a scapegoat in the entire episode with oblique purposes and sinister motives, merely on speculations, conjectures and surmises.”Param Bir Singh’s Petition
Former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh on Monday, 22 March, filed a petition before the Supreme Court about his transfer to Home Guard Department by the Maharashtra government and demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the alleged malpractices by state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh.
Singh also claimed that he had brought Deshmukh’s alleged malpractices to the notice of several senior leaders of the Maharashtra government, including Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
As he had claimed in his letter to the chief minister on 20 March, Singh reiterated his allegation that Deshmukh had pressurised several officers to extort money from bars and pubs in Mumbai and other sources and demanded that a fair and unbiased probe be conducted before “evidence is destroyed.”
Here Are Some Key Highlights of the Petition
- Singh in the petition claimed that he had brought the alleged corrupt practices of Deshmukh in the knowledge of the senior leaders including Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, following which he was transferred on 17 March to the Home Guard department.
- Singh claimed that Deshmukh had been holding meetings in February 2021 at his residence with police officers including Sachin Vaze and ACP Sanjay Patil of the Social Service Branch, Mumbai, bypassing their seniors and had instructed them that he had a target to accumulate Rs 100 crore every month from bars, pubs, and other sources.
- Singh claimed that he was time and again pressurised by Deshmukh to probe the role of certain leaders of BJP and somehow implicate them in the suicide of MP Mohan Delkar in Mumbai and give the entire episode a political angle.
- Singh in the petition alleged that one Rashmi Shukla, the Commissioner Intelligence, in August 2020 had brought to the notice of the Director-General of Police the alleged corrupt malpractices in postings and transfers by Deshmukh based on telephonic interceptions. “She was shunted out rather than taking any firm action against said Shri Anil Deshmukh, who in turn brought it to the knowledge of the Additional Chief Secretary Home Department,” Singh alleged.
- Singh accused Deshmukh of interfering in various investigations and instructing the police officers to conduct probes in a particular manner as desired by him
- Singh mentioned in the petition that Deshmukh abused the official position to call and directly instruct the police officers of lower rank such as Sachin Vaze “for his malicious intent of extorting money from establishments across Mumbai and from other sources”
- A fair CBI investigation is thus warranted in each of such acts of Deshmukh, Singh said.
Pressure Rises on Maha Govt Over Deshmukh
The petition by Singh comes as the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in the state is facing pressure from the Opposition for the resignation of Deshmukh following a letter alleging corruption was written by Singh to CM Thackeray on 20 March.
Pawar, while addressing the media earlier on Monday alleged that Singh's corruption allegations against Deshmukh were vague, and that there was no question of the latter resigning.
Addressing the media amid rising pressure over demands for Deshmukh’s resignation after Singh’s allegations in the backdrop of the Mukesh Ambani bomb scare case, Pawar said that the letter by the former top cop was a bid to derail the probe in the case.
“If you see the former commissioner's (Param Bir Singh's) letter, he mentions that in mid-February, he was informed by certain officers that they got such instructions from the Home Minister. From 5 to 15 February, Deshmukh was admitted at the hospital because of corona. From 15 till 27 February, he was under home quarantine,” Pawar told the media.
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