Chandiwal commission issues bailable warrant against Param Bir Singh

The state government on March 30 appointed the single-member commission headed by the former Bombay high court judge to probe the allegations against former home minister Anil Deshmukh that Singh made

The Justice (retired) Kailas Uttamchand Chandiwal enquiry commission on Tuesday issued a bailable warrant for the arrest of former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh, as the senior IPS officer has failed to personally appear before the commission.

Param Bir Singh. (HT Archive)

The state government on March 30 appointed the single-member commission headed by the former Bombay high court judge to probe the allegations that Singh made in a letter to the governor and the chief minister.

On March 20, three days after he was transferred out of the post of Mumbai CP, Singh shot off a letter to the governor, the CM and others, alleging that former home minister Anil Deshmukh would intermittently summon some Mumbai police officers, such as the then deputy commissioner of police (enforcement) Raju Bhujbal, assistant commissioner of police Sanjay Patil (social service branch) and dismissed assistant inspector Sachin Vaze of the criminal intelligence unit of the crime branch, to his official residence. Deshmukh would then give the officers a target to collect ₹100 crore every month from dance bars, hookah parlours and bars and restaurants in Mumbai, and even suggest that they could easily meet half of the target by simply recovering ₹3 lakh per month from each of the 1,750 establishments in the city, Singh alleged in his letter.

The panel has been given six months to examine whether Singh submitted the proof to establish that Deshmukh or any staffer from his office committed any offence/ misconduct as alleged in the letter, and whether specific allegations levelled by Singh merited investigation by the state Anti-Corruption Bureau or any other agency.

Though Singh is being represented by advocates Sanjay Jain and Anukul Seth before the commission, the one-man panel had earlier imposed a penalty of ₹50,000 on Singh for failing to appear in person and the senior IPS officer has deposited the amount in the state’s Covid Relief Fund, as directed by the panel.

The commission has also directed the Maharashtra DGP to issue the warrant through a senior police officer.

Advocate Shishir Hiray, who represented the commission, said while interacting with media persons, “The bailable warrant issued against Singh would be executed at the place where he is living now. To get the warrant cancelled he has to appear himself before the commission, along with a bond in the sum of ₹50,000, and only the commission can cancel the warrant.”