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BJP steps up pressure on Uddhav Thackeray to act against Anil Deshmukh
Former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh allege that the home minister had asked arrested Mumbai police officer Sachin Vaze to extort ₹100 crore a month from Mumbai’s bars and restaurants
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stepped up pressure on Uddhav Thackeray’s government to act against Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh, a day after shunted Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh alleged that the minister had asked arrested Mumbai police officer Sachin Vaze to extort ₹100 crore a month from Mumbai’s bars and restaurants.
The BJP workers led by state unit chief Chandrakant Patil staged a protest at the Deccan area in Pune, demanding the resignation of Deshmukh. BJP workers also staged protests at Kolhapur, Nagpur and Aurangabad.
Former chief minister and leader of the opposition Devendra Fadnavis said that protests will continue across Maharashtra until Thackeray acts against Deshmukh.
Param Bir Singh, in his letter written on Saturday to chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, alleged that Deshmukh had tasked assistant police inspector Sachin Vaze with collecting ₹100 crore when the latter was the chief of Mumbai’s crime intelligence unit. The letter has added another sensational twist to the case of an explosives-laden car found in front of Mukesh Ambani’s residence in Mumbai recently.
“The new revelations have shown how corrupt this government is. Uddhav Thackeray should immediately sack Deshmukh and initiate inquiry against him,” said Patil.
The BJP state unit chief also appealed to Raj Thackeray-led MNS and Prakash Ambedkar led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi to join the protests.
Param Bir Singh enclosed various chat messages to support his allegations purportedly exchanged between himself and assistant commissioner of police Sanjay Patil during March 16th and 19th.
The latest revelations have put further pressure on the MVA government to act against Deshmukh, who is already facing allegations of mishandling the Antilia explosives case, which has resulted in an embarrassment for the Mumbai police and the state government after NIA arrested Sachin Vaze, the investigating officer in the case, alleging he was himself involved in the plot.
The state government then shunted Param Bir Singh to fix accountability for the fiasco; however, Singh’s bombshell has now left the government red-faced, once again.
While Deshmukh has threatened to sue Singh, Sharad Pawar convened an urgent meeting in Delhi on Sunday evening to deal with the fallout.
