SC to hear Mumbai ex-top cop’s CBI probe plea today
New Delhi, March 23
The Supreme Court will on Wednesday hear a petition filed by former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh, seeking a CBI probe into corruption charges against Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh.
Ex-CM meets Home Secy
BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday met Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla. He said: “I gave him evidence in the police transfers’ racket. I have demanded a CBI inquiry. He has assured me of appropriate action.” TNS
Fadnavis’ charges
- Sharad Pawar’s claim that Deshmukh was in quarantine in Nagpur from February 17 to 24 is false
- In 2017, a racket of police transfers was exposed
- An intelligence report, dated August 25, 2020, was submitted to the DG, who forwarded it to ACS (Home)
- CM shielded the accused to save government
Param Bir’s petition is listed before a Bench of Justice SK Kaul and Justice R Subhash Reddy. He has sought directions to the Maharashtra Government, Centre and the CBI to immediately take into custody the CCTV footage from Deshmukh’s residence.
The BJP, meanwhile, escalated pressure on the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, challenging Deshmukh’s statement on his movements during the period he was accused of meeting suspended police officer Sachin Waze to discuss the alleged Rs 100 crore extortion plan.
Former CM Devendra Fadnavis, who claimed to have in his possession police reports to establish Deshmukh’s movements between February 17 and 24, called his quarantine claim a “big lie”.
He released copies of communication “showing the severity of allegations in the transfers/postings racket”.
Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad also produced a flight manifest to say that Deshmukh flew from Nagpur to Mumbai during the period he said he was in isolation.
“By backing Deshmukh, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has lost his political credibility. The only way he can reclaim it is by ensuring the minister’s exit,” Prasad said.
He accused the Uddhav Thackeray government of “stalling” the probe into Mansukh Hiren’s death and not handing over it to the NIA.
Fadnavis, who claimed that Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray was aware of the ongoing corruption/extortion racket in the police department, also accused the state government of acting against IPS Rashmi Shukla for unearthing the transfer racket.
Fadnavis claimed she was given a posting which did not even exist rather than being given a promotion following her investigations into the corrupt practices in the department. — TNS
