Pained that my family is being harassed: Former Maharashtra minister Anil Deshmukh

Anil Deshmukh said the allegations levelled by Param Bir Singh against him are baseless. The former Maharashtra minister also said it was not true that he was evading the probe by the central agencies

Former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmumh, who on Monday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) following summons by the agency, has questioned the whereabouts of former Mumbai Police commissioner Param Bir Singh. Deshmukh said that he was “pained” that he was being grilled on the allegations levelled by an officer, who according to the media reports, has “fled the country”.

Former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh said that Param Bir Singh levelled allegations against him only after he was removed as the police commissioner of Mumbai. (HT FILE)

Stating that the allegations levelled by Singh against him are baseless, Deshmukh also said that it was not true that he was evading the probe by the central agencies.

“All that I have ever sought is a transparent, fair and objective probe without any fear or favour so that truth is not rendered a casualty,” read a statement released by the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader.

“Param Bir Singh levelled allegations against me after he was removed as the [police] commissioner of Mumbai and not when he was on that post. Former API (assistant police inspector) Sachin Vaze levelled [extortion] allegations only after I initiated the process of his termination from the service. Vaze is facing murder charges and is being probed by NIA (National Investigation Agency) in the Antilia explosives scare. Vaze was behind the bars on many occasions in the past as well. He was a trusted aide of Singh and levelled allegations against me on his behest. The central agencies are investigating against me and my family on the allegations levelled by people, of which one has fled the country and the other is facing serious charges. My family members are being harassed and it pains me a lot,” Deshmukh said in a pre-recorded video message put out on Twitter.

“Whenever I received ED summons, I had informed them that I have moved the Bombay high court (HC) and the Supreme Court (SC) and would appear before them after the ruling by the courts. I had appeared before the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) twice. My case is still pending before SC, but as it is likely to delay, I appeared before ED today,” he further said.

Stating that Singh is in Belgium, Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam has questioned who is behind facilitating the Indian Police Service (IPS) officer’s safe passage.

“According to the information I received from my sources, Singh is in Belgium and fled the country through Nepal. The central agencies should throw more light on this. The question is how did he flee and who helped him in doing so. The central agencies should answer these questions. If the Centre is claiming that our borders are safe and fool proof, how can a person facing five cases flee the country? According to my information, Singh has a house in London and his family lives there. The Centre should coordinate with the Interpol to bring him back,” said the former parliamentarian.

In March, Singh had written to chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, alleging that Deshmukh had asked crime branch officers to collect ₹100 every month from establishments. IPS officer Rashmi Shukla, who was the intelligence department chief, had submitted a report last August to the state government over the alleged exchange of money for police transfers. Taking the cognisance of Singh’s allegations, HC had ordered a preliminary inquiry by CBI against Deshmukh, while ED is probing money laundering charges against the ex-minister.

“Deshmukh appeared before ED only after he failed to get respite from courts. A bigger question here is why were leaders from all three ruling parties (Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress) trying to save the former home minister. Perhaps they fear that the inquiry will reveal the names of the ruling parties’ leaders who were equally involved in the collection of the ₹100-crore. We firmly believe that the truth will come to the fore in the inquiry,” said Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ram Kadam.