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Updated May 12th, 2021 at 13:32 IST

Maharashtra Police begins probe into Param Bir Singh; complainant Cricket bookie summoned

The Maharashtra Police has begun a probe into the complaint lodged by Sonu Jalan against former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh, as per sources

Reported by: Koushik Narayanan
Param Bir Singh
ANI / PTI image composite | Image:self
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In a breaking development, the Maharashtra Police has begun a probe into the complaint lodged by Sonu Jalan against former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh. Sources have informed that the state's CID has summoned complainant Sonu Jalan to its Belapur office at 2.30 pm on Wednesday to record his statement. DCP Crime has asked other businessmen along with Sonu Jalan to join the probe while the Thane Police is also investigating the matter. 

Complainant Jalan writes letter accusing Param Bir Singh

Earlier this week, the Thane Police Commissioner had ordered the transfer of Inspector Rajkumar Kothmire - accused of extortion along with former Mumbai Police CP Param Bir Singh by a Cricket bookie - to Gadchiroli last Thursday. The development came after Republic accessed a letter penned by two bookies, Sonu Jalan and Ketan Tann, who claimed that Param Bir Singh and his colleague & former encounter cop Pradeep Sharma had extorted them after falsely implicating them in betting cases. Jalan, an accused in the 2018 IPL betting racket, was arrested by then-Thane Commissioner Param Bir Singh in a Rs 45 lakh cricket betting case.

In his letter, Jalan claimed that he was asked to cough up Rs 10 crore by Param Bir Singh, Pradeep Sharma & Raj Kumar Kothmire. He added that after negotiation, a settlement was done at Rs 3 crore. He further accused Singh and Sharma of 'illegal activities' and 'extorting many by threatening and pressuring them' and implicating them in false cases if they failed to pay huge amounts. Similarly, another bookie Ketan Tanna, alleged that no steps were taken against corrupt police officers because Param Bir Singh was shielding them.

Maharashtra govt probes Param Bir Singh

The Maharashtra govt has ordered two probes into Param Bir Singh - one pertaining to the Antilia bomb scare case and the other in connection with the corruption allegations levelled by reinstated Police Inspector Anoop Dange. Claiming that Singh demanded Rs. 2 crore for revoking his suspension, Dange accused him of saving some people with underworld connections when he was the DG of the Anti Corruption Bureau. The Bombay HC has refused to grant the former Mumbai CP interim protection urging him to approach the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) with his grievances. The petition will now be heard on June 9. 

Param Bir Singh's allegations against Anil Deshmukh

The controversy came to the fore on February 20 when Param Bir Singh levelled serious 'extortion' charges against Anil Deshmukh. In a letter addressed to Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray, Singh refuted Deshmukh's remarks that his transfer was due to serious lapses in the Antilia bomb scare case. Moreover, he alleged that the NCP leader had asked Sachin Vaze to extort Rs.100 crore per month from 1750 bars, restaurants and other establishments in Mumbai. Sachin Vaze is the main accused in the Antilia bomb scare case and has on Tuesday been dismissed from the Mumbai Police by Param Bir's successor Hemant Nagrale, CP of Mumbai.

After the SC directed the CBI to conduct a preliminary enquiry, Deshmukh stepped down as the Home Minister on moral grounds and was replaced by Dilip Walse Patil. On April 21, the CBI registered an FIR against the NCP leader and unknown individuals under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 120 B of the Indian Penal Code. According to the FIR, the former Maharashtra Home Minister attempted to take undue advantage of public duty's improper and dishonest performance. On Tuesday, the ED also filed a PMLA case against him as well.

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Published May 11th, 2021 at 21:37 IST

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