BJP scorches MVA's defence of Sachin Vaze as secret police report exposes Param Bir Singh

Even as the secret police report that was accessed by Republic purported a clear free hand given by former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh to suspended & under arrest API Sachin Vaze, BJP leaders slammed the Maharashtra government's leadership for defending Sachin Vaze in the Maharashtra assembly & predicted more officers to be summoned by the investigating agencies in the future.

A secret report from a top Police official to the Maharashtra government revealed that API Sachin Vaze had been reinstated into service on the insistence of Param Bir Singh and that the now-suspended API reported and took instructions directly from the ex-Mumbai Police Commissioner and not the Crime Branch senior officers. Reacting to the shocking report, BJP leaders Ram Kadam and Atul Bhatkhalkar remarked that the Maha Vikas Aghadi stood exposed as more evidence was being uncovered on a daily basis. This came even as another former Mumbai top-cop, encounter specialist Pradeep Sharma who quit the force in 2019 to contest and lose the Lok Sabha election to the Nalasopara constituency under a Shiv Sena ticket, reached the NIA's office for questioning. Param Bir Singh had been questioned for almost 4 hours by the NIA for the first time on Wednesday.

BJP MLAs predict more netas and officers could join Sachin Vaze

Speaking to Republic, BJP MLA Ram Kadam noted that Sachin Vaze was vociferously defended in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly by the CM as well as ex-Home minister Anil Deshmukh and claimed that a big scam was happening in Mumbai. Ram Kadam claimed that big leaders and officers were currently under the scanner of multiple investigating agencies and predicted more information to be revealed as the investigation continues.  

BJP MLA Atul Bhatkhalkar claimed that more officers were to be summoned in the probe in the future while remarking that the link would reach 'up to Mantralaya', hinting at possible connections with the CM, HM and other senior ministers. The BJP leader noted that while Param Bir Singh had insisted on reinstating Sachin Vaze to the Mumbai Police force in 2020, Devendra Fadnavis had also been pressurized by Uddhav Thackeray earlier in 2019. The ex-Maharashtra CM had earlier revealed that he had refused to reappoint Sachin Vaze to the police force in 2019 after consulting legal experts despite Uddhav Thackeray insisting him to do so. MLA Atul Bhatkhalkar claimed that Param Bir Singh was just a 'pawn'. 

Param Bir Singh orally made Sachin Vaze CIU incharge

In an explosive development in the Vazegate scandal that has rocked the Mumbai Police and the Maharashtra government, a police report accessed exclusively by Republic reveals that suspended and arrested API Sachin Vaze 'reported' solely to former Mumbai Police commissioner Param Bir Singh and had been effectively made in-charge of the Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU) upon his reinstatement, against the verbal opposition of the Joint CP Crime. 

A secret police report from a top Maharashtra police officer to the state government, which has now been accessed by Republic, revealed that Sachin Vaze had 'not followed any rules' and had been instructed by ex-Commissioner Param Bir Singh on arrests and raids on illegal activities, and indicates that the former was given a free hand by the former top cop. Further, the report states that Sachin Vaze had not reported to any senior officers of the Crime Branch and had prohibited his colleague at CIU from doing the same. The report established that Sachin Vaze was present at crucial meetings including the ones on the fake TRP scam, Dilip Chabriya case, Antilia bomb scare probe and others, including the Mumbai CP's briefings to ministers on these matters.

The accessed report also reveals that Sachin Vaze's reinstatement to service after the completion of his suspension on 6 June 2020 was brought up at a review meeting at the level of the Commissioner of Police, who was none other than Param Bir Singh. As per the report, the decision on Sachin Vaze's reinstation was taken in the meeting also attended by the Joint Commissioner of Police, the Additional Commissioner of Police and the then Deputy Commissioner of Police, apart from Param Bir Singh. 

The report also states that the Joint Commissioner of Police had 'strongly opposed' bringing back Sachin Vaze to the Mumbai Police force but had 'unwillingly' issued the order to so on the insistence of ex-Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh. Further, the report revealed that Sachin Vaze did not report to any officer of the crime branch and that no personnel from the Crime Branch had reviewed, opined or issued directions to Sachin Vaze and the cases handled by him. The accessed report also stated that Sachin Vaze had used high-end luxurious cars (possibly from among the ones that have been seized by the NIA so far) apart from three government-issued vehicles to commute to his office. As per the report, the rank of the incharge of the Crime Branch is to be of a Police Inspector. However, the order to name Sachin Vaze who is an API as the CIU in-charge was allegedly an oral one from Param Bir Singh.