Sharad Pawar says those who sent Anil Deshmukh to jail will pay the price

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar made the remarks at a rally in Nagpur on Wednesday evening, insisting that Anil Deshmukh was innocent

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led union government, saying those who played a role in getting former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh sent to jail will pay the price for having done so.

A recent photo of NCP chief Sharad Pawar in New Delhi. (PTI)

Pawar made the remarks at a rally in Nagpur on Wednesday evening, insisting that Deshmukh was innocent.

Anil Deshmukh was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate over money laundering charges and is currently in judicial custody.

Pawar also questioned the whereabouts of former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh who had made multiple allegations against Deshmukh, following which the Maharashtra home minister resigned.

“We have seen the case of Anil babu (Deshmukh). What was his crime? You all know it well. One day, Param Bir Singh came to meet me and said he complained to the CM against Deshmukh. When I asked him what it was about, he said Deshmukh had given him instructions to extort money. Then I asked him if he carried out the instructions. He said he didn’t. I am unable to understand what Deshmukh’s crime was if his so-called instructions were not carried out in the first place,” Sharad Pawar argued while addressing the rally in Nagpur.

Param Bir Singh had alleged that Deshmukh had ordered him to extort ₹100 crore from businesses and other establishments. The allegations were made soon after he was transferred as Mumbai police commissioner following the mysterious discovery explosives near Mumbai’s Antilia and subsequent murder of Thane trader Mansukh Hiran.

On Wednesday, the additional chief metropolitan magistrate court declared Param Bir Singh a proclaimed offender in connection with the extortion case.

“You (BJP) are spreading propaganda against a person (Deshmukh). He (Deshmukh) came to meet me and said a complaint has been made by the police commissioner. Until the probe was completed, he didn’t want to stay in position and stepped down as home minister. We will not keep quiet. You (BJP) have sent him (Deshmukh) behind bars and you will be made to pay the price of every day and every hour,” former union minister Sharad Pawar said without naming the BJP.