E-Paper
BJP steps up pressure on Uddhav Thackeray to act against Anil Deshmukh
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.
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 resignation of Deshmukh. BJP workers also staged protests at Kolhapur, Nagpur and Aurangabad.
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.
To support his allegations, Param Bir Singh enclosed various chat messages purportedly exchanged between himself and assistant commissioner of police Sanjay Patil during March 16 and 19.
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 into embarrassment for 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, chief of his Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Sharad Pawar has convened an urgent meeting in Delhi on Sunday evening to deal with the fallout.
