The case against Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, who has been charged by former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh with alleged “money collection” appears to be heating up with one more litigant, Jaishri Laxmanrao Patil, a lawyer, filing a criminal writ petition in the Bombay High Court on March 23, demanding an investigation into the allegations.
On March 22, Singh moved the Supreme Court seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the alleged corrupt practices followed by Deshmukh. Param Bir Singh, additionally, challenged his transfer in the Supreme Court following the supposed botch-up of the Ambani bomb scare case. He was shunted out as Police Commissioner on March 17, after investigations revealed that an officer reporting to him, Sachin Vaze, was connected to an abandoned vehicle near the Ambani residence, in which explosives were found. Following his transfer, Param Bir Singh wrote to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, alleging that in meetings with certain police officers at his residence the Home Minister instructed the officers on collecting Rs.100 crore every month from individuals and establishments such as bars, restaurants and shops. One of the junior officers was Sachin Vaze, who is under arrest in connection with the Ambani bomb threat case.
In his submission to the Supreme Court, Param Bir Singh said that he was being made a “scapegoat to divert attention” from the Antilia case and that his transfer was a political move with oblique purposes and sinister moves. He said his transfer was based on “conjectures, surmises and pure speculation”. Param Bir Singh said he was on the brink of unravelling key discoveries in several cases and that was why he was shunted out of the post of Police Commissioner. Param Bir Singh accused Anil Deshmukh of indulging in corrupt practices in official postings and transfers of officers. In his submission to the court, he provided a list of officers impacted by Deshmukh’s moves. The court listed the case for hearing on March 26.
Meanwhile, lawyer Jaishri Laxmanrao Patil filed a plea in the Bombay High Court that both Aanil Deshmukh’s and Param Bir Singh’s actions need to be investigated. Referring to Singh’s allegations in the letter to the Chief Minister, the petition said that Anil Deshmukh’s involvement in corrupt practises needed to be probed by an independent agency. Furthermore, Param Bir Singh’s role needed to be looked into as he was Police Commissioner for a year and failed to act in spite of reportedly knowing about the corruption.
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