Mumbai: The war of words between Devendra Fadnavis and Anil Deshmukh has taken a new turn with dismissed controversial police officer Sachin Waze claiming that he had submitted evidence of bribery and corruption against the NCP (SP) leader and former Home Minister and has also written a letter to the Deputy Chief Minister.
Waze claimed that he had also named state NCP (SP) President Jayant Patil in the letter.
Waze, who was then working at the Crime Intelligence Unit of Crime Branch-CID, is currently in jail in connection with the February 2021 planting of gelatine sticks-laden Mahindra Scorpio with a threat note near Antilia, the residence of Mukesh Ambani, and the subsequent brutal murder of the SUV owner Mansukh Hiran.
The then Mumbai Police commissioner Param Bir Singh, who was suspended and then retired, had alleged that Deshmukh had fixed a collection target of Rs 100 crore per month for Waze.
Talking to some TV channels on Friday evening, Waze claimed: “Deshmukh used to take bribes through his PA (personal assistant). I have given all the proof…the CBI knows about it…I have also written a letter to Fadnavis (who is also the state Home Minister). I have submitted all the evidence.” Besides, he claimed that he had also named Patil and was ready for narco-test.
Deshmukh, however, refuted the allegations and also named Fadnavis as the person behind it. “What Waze spoke is a new move by Fadnavis, as a few days back, I had levelled allegations against Fadnavis about how he had three years back given a proposal to me to implicate (then Chief Minister) Uddhav Thackeray and (his son) Aditya Thackeray (and others).”
“Waze was arrested in two murder cases and is not a person who can be trusted…the Bombay High Court has commented on him,” he said and accused Fadnavis of using a person with criminal antecedents to implicate him.
On his part, Fadnavis said that he got to know about Waze’s allegations through the media. “You are also showing that he has written a letter to me. I have not seen anything on that yet because I have been in Nagpur for the last two days. I will react after seeing if any such letter has come or not. But I want to tell you that whatever is coming out, we will do a proper investigation on it,” said Fadnavis.
Reacting to the charges, NCP (SP) chief spokesperson Mahesh Tapase said: "Waze, a former Mumbai police officer who became embroiled in a high-profile controversy that significantly impacted Maharashtra's political landscape made fresh allegations against Deshmukh, suggesting misconduct during his tenure. In fact, Waze had previously testified before the Chandiwal Commission, asserting that neither Deshmukh nor his personal assistants demanded any money nor instructed him to collect money from Mumbai's restaurant and bar owners. The statement made by Waze is clearly politically motivated.”
Tapase said that it was Singh who made serious allegations against Deshmukh and was reluctant to face the Chandiwal Commission. "He later submitted a letter to the Commission stating that his allegation was based on an information which he had heard and he didn’t have any concrete proof to substantiate the same," said Tapase.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Sanjay Raut said: "The BJP seems to be using Waze fearing defeat in the forthcoming Assembly polls. Who is Waze?...he is a murder accused who is in jail."
State NCP President Nana Patole said: "Fadnavis claims that he possesses both audio and video (against Deshmukh)….he is on a constitutional post and hence, he cannot keep it hidden. The people have the right to know the reality but he will not say anything as he only wants to scare (political rivals)... I think their (Maha Yuti) time is up. In a few days, Maha Vikas Aghadi government will be formed, then we will investigate it and everything will be clear..."