Those who put Anil Deshmukh in jail will pay the price: NCP chief Sharad Pawar

The NCP chief also trained guns at former Mumbai top cop Param Bir Singh, who made allegations of extortion against Anil Deshmukh

Nationalist Congress Party Chief Sharad Pawar slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party-led (BJP) Central government on Wednesday and said that those who put the former home minister Anil Deshmukh in jail will have to pay the price.

“You are spreading propaganda against a person. You have sent him [Anil Deshmukh] behind bars and will be made to pay the price of every day and every hour,” NCP chief Sharad Pawar said at a public rally in Nagpur, without directly naming BJP. (HT FILE)

“You are spreading propaganda against a person. He (Deshmukh) came to meet me and said that the complaint has been made by the police commissioner. Until the probe is complete, he doesn’t want to stay in this position and he is stepping down as home minister. You have sent him behind bars and will be made to pay the price of every day and every hour,” the former union minister said at a public rally in Nagpur, without directly naming the BJP.

He also questioned the whereabouts of former Mumbai top cop Param Bir Singh, who made the allegations of extortion against Deshmukh. “No one knows the whereabouts of the police officer who made the accusations against Deshmukh. The court has declared him a proclaimed offender. On the other hand, Anil Deshmukh is lodged in jail,” Pawar told reporters on Thursday.

“What was Anil Babu’s crime? One day, Param Bir Singh came to meet me and said he had complained about Deshmukh to the chief minister. When I asked him for details, he said that Deshmukh had given him these (extortion) instructions. I said, ‘How is it possible and even if we assume that he has, have you implemented them?’ He replied in negative. I am unable to understand what Deshmukh’s crime was if his so-called instructions were not implemented,” Pawar said at the rally.

Singh had alleged that Deshmukh ordered to collect ₹100 crore from businesses and other establishments. The allegations were made soon after he was transferred from the post of Mumbai police commissioner following the Antilia explosives scare and subsequent murder of Thane trader Mansukh Hiran. Deshmukh resigned from his post soon after this.

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

On Wednesday, the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate court declared Singh a proclaimed offender in connection with the extortion case.