Ambani bomb scare: Maharashtra govt transfers Mumbai top cop Param Bir Singh

Singh, a 1988-batch officer, has been held responsible for the inept handling of the bomb scare and the death of Thane-based businessman Mansukh Hiran

Amid the controversy over the bomb scare at billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s residence Antilia and the subsequent arrest of former police officer Sachin Vaze, the Maharashtra government on Wednesday transferred Param Bir Singh from the post of police commissioner of Mumbai to the head of the home guard. Acting director general of police Hemant Nagrale has been appointed as the new Mumbai Police commissioner, home minister Anil Deshmukh tweeted.

Param Bir Singh. (HT Archive)

Singh, a 1988-batch officer, has been held responsible for the inept handling of the bomb scare and the death of Thane-based businessman Mansukh Hiran. Vaze’s arrest by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), too, is said to be the reason behind his sudden transfer. The decision was announced after a slew of meetings were held between key leaders from the three ruling parties (Congress, Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party) and top home department officials over the last two days.

“State government’s key decision—Shri Hemant Nagrale to become the new police commissioner of Mumbai. Rajnish Sheth will be the acting director general of police. Shri Sanjay Pandey will be director general of Maharashtra State Security Corporation. Shri Param Bir Singh will head the home guards,” Deshmukh tweeted in Marathi.

According to officials from the home department, the Mumbai CP has been replaced with immediate effect. “Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray had a meeting with home minister Anil Deshmukh, and officers Nagrale and Singh for over an hour on Tuesday evening. A high-level meeting was held by CM Thackeray with the key leaders of the three ruling parties on Thursday morning at his official residence to apprise them about the decision,” an official said, requesting anonymity.

Mumbai Police officer Sachin Vaze was behind the bomb scare outside billionaire industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s house, which he orchestrated as part of a conspiracy to restore his reputation as a successful cop, senior officers in NIA told HT on Tuesday, contending that the mystery around the explosive-laden vehicle has been solved.

Vaze, a former head of the Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU) of the Mumbai Crime Branch, was initially the lead investigator after a Scorpio car carrying 20 loose gelatin sticks (unassembled, with no detonator or timer) was found near Ambani’s Antilia on Carmichael Road on February 25. The case was transferred to NIA on March 8, and Vaze was arrested on March 13.

Vaze’s role first came under the spotlight after the death of Mansukh Hiran, who came forward as the person who had possession of the Scorpio SUV before it was found from outside Antilla. Hiran told police it was stolen from his residence before he was interrogated multiple times, including by Vaze’s unit.

Hiran was found dead on March 5, and the police said it was a suicide. His wife, however, said she suspected the police officer’s role in the death, kicking off a chain of events that eventually led to Vaze being questioned and detained.