‘There’s a case in Maharashtra where complainant himself is missing’: Thackeray’s dig at ex-Mumbai cop Param Bir Singh

Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray said the whereabouts of former Mumbai Police commissioner Param Bir Singh is unknown and that it needs to be “looked into.”

Shiv Sena chief and Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday took a jibe at former Mumbai Police commissioner Param Bir Singh as he remains absconding in the money laundering and Antilia bomb scare case. “Justice DY Chandrachud pointed out that a case is pending in Maharashtra since 1958 as the accused is absconding. But today we have a case where the complainant is missing,” Thackeray was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

Maharashtra chief minister and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray.

The Sena chief made the remark at the inauguration of two wings of the annexe building at Bombay High Court’s Aurangabad bench. Emphasising his apparent dig at Singh, Thackeray said that the complainant made “serious allegations, but is now missing.” “We do not know where he is. This is something that also needs to be looked into,” he added, according to PTI.

The event was attended by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, Supreme Court Judge DY Chandrachud, and Union law minister Kiren Rijuju, among others.

Singh has been untraceable since May when he went on leave, citing health reasons. A lookout notice was issued against him in July for his continued absence in the police summons pertaining to the allegations he levelled against former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh in the money laundering case. He has also named dismissed Mumbai Police officer Sachin Vaze in the case.

Notably, Singh was removed as the Mumbai Police chief following his handling of the Antilia bomb scare case and the subsequent murder of Thane trader Mansukh Hiren.

Last week, law enforcement agencies in Maharashtra said that they have no hint regarding Singh’s whereabouts. This development came after a Maharashtra Crime Investigation Department (CID) team visited Singh’s known addresses, including his official residence in Mumbai, family home in Chandigarh and a house in Haryana’s Rohtak, among many other venues.

Earlier, reports suggested that Singh may have fled India either by using a forged passport or before the lookout notice was issued against him.