In a shocking revelation that shook Maharashtra’s political circles, former Mumbai Police chief Param Bir Singh has alleged that Home Minister Anil Deshmukh had assigned a target of Rs 100 crore a month collection from suspended Assistant Police Inspector Sachin Vaze.
Singh, an officer of 1988-IPS batch, who was shunted out from the most sought-after police assignment and posted as Commandant General of Home Guards, has made the allegations in a letter written to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray with a copy to the office of Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.
According to the letter, he has already briefed Thackeray, Pawar and NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, the chief architect of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, about Deshmukh’s “misdeeds and malpractices”.
Singh said Vaze, who was heading the Crime Intelligence Unit of the Crime Branch, was called at his official residence several times in the past few months.
The BJP has demanded the immediate sacking of Deshmukh, a senior NCP leader from Vidarbha.
“The Home Minister expressed to Vaze that he had a target to accumulate Rs 100 crore a month. For achieving the aforesaid target, the Home Minister told Vaze that there are about 1,750 bars, restaurants and other establishments in Mumbai and if a sum of Rs 2-3 lakh each was collected from each of them, a monthly collection of Rs 40-50 crore was achievable. The Home Minister added that the rest of the collection could be made from other sources,” Singh said in the letter.
Meanwhile, Deshmukh has denied the charges. “The involvement of Sachin Vaze is clear in the Antilia-Scorpio planting case and murder of Mansukh Hiran…the strings would have possibly reached Param Bir Singh…he is trying to save himself,” Deshmukh said.
It needs to be mentioned here that the twin cases have been taken over by the NIA.
Singh said that even as Vaze came and informed him about the demands of the Home Minister, Assistant Commissioner of Sanjay Patil of Social Service Branch and Deputy Commissioner (Enforcement) Raju Bhujbal were also called by Deshmukh to discuss the hookah parlours in Mumbai, with similar demands to ‘collect’ money.
Singh said that he reconfirmed all this information four days ago with ACP Sanjay Patil and also reproduced the WhatsApp chat with him in the letter that he sent to Thackeray and Koshyari.