Anil Deshmukh Case: Besides Vaze, ED To Question Former Mumbai Police Chief Param Bir Singh

Sachin Vaze had claimed that following Deshmukh's orders, he had collected Rs 4.70 crore from bars in Mumbai between the period of December 2020 to February 2021.

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Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) will soon question former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh in connection with the alleged corruption case lodged against former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh, sources said.

This development comes after a Special NIA court granted permission to ED for questioning sacked police official Sachin Vaze at the Taloja Jail.

Earlier, ED officials had informed that the agency will question Sachin Vaze inside the Mumbai jail premises on Saturday after a Special Court granted it permission to visit the sacked police official and record his statement in the jail.

On May 19, Vaze had reportedly told ED that following Deshmukh's orders, he had collected Rs 4.70 crore from bars in Mumbai between the period of December 2020 to February 2021.

Vaze had reported that he handed over the amount to the former home minister's personal assistant Kundan Shinde, who was recently arrested in the same case, along with Deshmukh's personal secretary Sanjeev Palande.

The ED revealed that Shinde has denied knowing Vaze and he was not cooperating with the probe even as he and Palande were directly linked in the alleged corruption.

Anil Deshmukh also has so far skipped three ED summons for questioning and has moved the Supreme Court seeking protection against any coercive action.

Sachin Vaze was arrested in connection with the Anitilia bomb scare case wherein an SUV was found near the home of industrialist Mukesh Ambani carrying 20 gelatin sticks and a threat note. He is also accused in the death case of Mansukh Hiran.

As for the alleged corruption case, Param Bir Singh had claimed that Anil Deshmukh asked police officers to collect money from restaurant and bar owners in Mumbai. In his letter, he had also mentioned that former assistant inspector Sachin Vaze and ACP Sanjay Patil were given a target to collect Rs 100 crores a month. These allegations were denied by the then-state home minister.

According to officials, the CBI got enough prima facie material during the inquiry to start a formal probe by registering a regular case against Deshmukh and other unidentified persons under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

(With Agency Inputs)