21.3.21

Mumbai: Parambir’s Sting

A letter purportedly written by former Mumbai Police chief Param Bir Singh to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday alleged that Home Minister Anil Deshmukh asked suspended cop Sachin Waze to collect Rs 100 crore from bars, restaurants and other establishments every month. The letter also made several other allegations of misdeeds and malpractices allegedly carried out by Deshmukh. While the home minister, Deshmukh, refuted the allegations calling them false and baseless and said that he would file a defamation suit, the CMO issued a press release later in the night stating that it is yet to verify the authenticity of the unsigned letter by the name of Param Bir Singh.

“An unsigned letter with the name of Param Bir Singh was received on the CMO’s official email ID today at 4:37pm from the email ID paramirs3@gmail.com, and the email address is being verified. Similarly, an attempt is being made to contact Param Bir Singh through the home department. In fact, the personal email address given by Param Bir Singh for the list of IPS officers is parimbirs@hotmail.com, so it is necessary to check the email received today,” the released stated raising confusion over the authenticity of the letter.

Meanwhile, when contacted, ex-CP Singh, replied via a text message that he can’t talk right now.

The purported letter also says that he has been made a scapegoat to divert attention from the actual wrongdoers, and claims that there is not even an iota of material or evidence – far from proof – found against him or even imputed against him.

The letter suggested that the call records and phone data of Waze be examined to ascertain the truth of the allegations against him and for the truth to emerge in so far as his association with political functionaries is concerned.

The letter narrates how Singh had briefed CM Thackeray, NCP chief Sharad Pawar and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar about several “misdeed and malpractices” Deshmukh allegedly indulged into, and claimed that some of them were already aware about some aspects mentioned by him.

“At one of the briefing sessions in the wake of the Antilia incident held in mid-March 2021 when I was called late evening at Varsha to brief you, I had pointed out several misdeeds and malpractices being indulged into by the Hon’ble Home Minister. I have similarly briefed the Hon’ble Deputy Chief Minister, Maharsahtra, the President of the Nationalist Congress Party, Shri Sharad Pawar and other senior Ministers also about the misdeeds and malpractices. On my briefings, I noticed that some of the Ministers were already aware about some aspects mentioned by me to them,” the letter alleges.

The letter further says that Waze who was heading Crime Intelligence Unit of the Crime Branch of the Mumbai Police was called by Deshmukh to his residence, Dyaneshwar, several times in the last few months and repeatedly instructed to assist in collection of funds for him.

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