Anil Deshmukh says that the investigational probe revealed links leading to Singh and he was trying to mislead the ongoing investigation.<\/p>\n
The sequence of events leading to the incident was as follows:<\/p>\n
Anil Deshmukh claims that on 16th March, when Param Bir Singh realized that he will be removed from the post of Police Commissioner, the next day on 17th, he set up a few questions to trap ACP Mr. Patil and got the resultant answers he conspired for.<\/p>\n
Singh then wrote a letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray stating that the home minister had asked several officers including Sachin Vaze who has been arrested in the Mukesh Ambani case to run an extortion racket.\u00a0 He set them to the target of Rs. 100 crore every month to collect money from pubs, bars, restaurants, and hookah parlors. The demand, he said, was made in February.<\/p>\n
Mr. Singh wrote in the letter that the Home Minister, Anil Deshmukh had on several occasions directed police officers on how to handle cases and file charges that bypassed him and other senior officers.<\/p>\n
Param Bir Singh was transferred to the Home Guard on Wednesday after police officer Sachin Vaze arrested in the case involving an abandoned green Scorpio in a tight security zone found with 20 unassembled gelatin sticks near the home of Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani earlier this month. There were allegations that Sachin Vaze was linked to the death of a man believed to be the owner of the explosives-filled SUV.\u00a0 Incidentally, Sachin Vaze was the police officer who arrested anchor, Arnab Goswami, managing director and editor-in-chief of Republic Media Network.<\/p>\n
Mr. Deshmukh has denied the charges and said he will sue Mr. Singh for defamation and questions Mr. Singh’s initial silence on Sachin Vaze’s arrest.\u00a0 He also stated that it was apparent that Mr. Singh was leading the conversation to repetitively get particular information from Mr. Patil to document it to build a case against him.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has demanded Home Minister Anil Deshmukh\u2019s resignation. They have also demanded a probe either by the CIA or a court-monitored probe.\u00a0 Putting on additional pressure, they have also declared a state-wide agitation from Sunday, demanding Deshmukh\u2019s resignation.<\/p>\n
Sharad Pawar, prominent Indian politician and former chief minister of Maharashtra stated, \u201cThere is no information on actual transaction of money. No information on any money being transferred to the Home Minister or his staff.”\u00a0 \u00a0Mr. Pawar said he would request Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray arrange for a partial investigation be done into Mr. Singh’s allegations. He said he would ask that former police Chief Julio Ribeiro be instructed to conduct the probe. Pawar said, “Julio Riberio’s credibility is such that no one can interfere or influence his investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n
BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis held a press conference on Saturday demanding that Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray remove Anil Deshmukh based on the claims made by Param Bir Singh of Deshmukh instructing police to collect 100 crores.\u00a0 MNS chief Raj Thackeray also demanded Deshmukh\u2019s resignation.<\/p>\n
Jayant Patil, Maharashtra minister and NCP’s state unit chief, however, said there is “no question” of replacing Maharashtra Home Minister.<\/p>\n
Shiv Sena leader and chief spokesperson, Sanjay Raut told reporters in Nashik that he has not seen the letter and will not be in a position to respond to the allegation. \u201cI have not seen the letter. I don\u2019t know anything about it. If the matter is related to the government, the people from the government will respond. I will not speak about the issue that I don\u2019t have complete knowledge about. I don\u2019t know what allegations have been made.\u201d<\/p>\n
CMO also issued a statement saying that the letter was received from a mail, which was not registered as Singh\u2019s personal mail address and also didn\u2019t bear his signature. It is deemed necessary to ascertain if Singh has sent the letter or not. The officials from the home department are trying to get in touch with him in this regard.<\/p>\n
Anil Deshmukh has denied all charges and declared he will sue Mr. Singh for defamation.<\/p>\n