Param Bir Singh letter on corruption claims against Anil Deshmukh: Who said what

In his letter, Param Bir Singh, who was recently removed from office, claimed that Anil Deshmukh asked arrested cop Sachin Vaze to extort money from restaurants and bars in Mumbai.

A day after former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh wrote a letter to Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray levelling corruption allegations against state home minister Anil Deshmukh, several political leaders have given their reactions. While the opposition has demanded Deshmukh’s resignation, his party members and alliance partners of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government have termed the matter as serious but have ruled out replacing him.

Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh. (HT PHOTO)

In his letter, Singh, who was recently removed from office, claimed that Deshmukh asked arrested cop Sachin Vaze to extort money from restaurants and bars in Mumbai. The letter, which is being widely circulation on social media, states that Deshmukh told Vaze, who has been arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with Mukesh Ambani threat case, that he had a target of collecting ₹100 crore a month from the city joints.

Here’s who said what about the letter

Anil Deshmukh: The Maharashtra home minister has refuted the allegations against him and asserted that Param Bir Singh made the claims to save himself as his involvement in the Ambani bomb scare case and Mansukh Hiran death case was getting clearer. Deshmukh has said that he is going to file a defamation case against the former Mumbai police commissioner.

Chief minister’s office: CM Uddhav Thackeray himself has not commented on the issue yet, but his office late on Saturday said that the letter that was received was not signed by Singh and did not come from his official email address. They are still verifying the letter, the chief minister’s office said.

Devendra Fadnavis: The BJP has stepped up pressure on the government and has asked the chief minister to sack Deshmukh if he doesn’t resign. Fadnavis has accused the home minister of being involved in corruption in the past as well. He has alleged that former Maharashtra director-general of Police (DGP) Subodh Kumar Jaiswal had submitted a report to the government on corruption in the transfer of police officers but no action was taken.

Sharad Pawar: The chief of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) - one of the constituents of the ruling MVA alliance - called the allegations against Deshmukh serious and said that it is the prerogative of CM Uddhav Thackeray to take appropriate action. “There has to be in depth inquiry by such an officer who enjoy full respect in police administration,” he said and suggested that former police commissioner of Mumbai Julio Ribeiro can carry out the investigation.

Jayant Patil: NCP Maharashtra president Jayant Patil said there is no question of replacing home minister Anil Deshmukh and asserted, "The letter is a reaction after Maharashtra chief minister and home minister decided to take a tough stand," the state minister said. "If we ask Deshmukh to resign now, we would be doing what certain people want," he told HT.

Raj Thackeray: After Param Bir Singh’s letter came to the fore, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief also demanded that Deshmukh quits from his post immediately. “The main issue is that of an explosive-laden vehicle being found near the residence of an industrialist. I request the central government to intervene. The state government cannot investigate this matter,” he added.