Ambani threat case: Mumbai top cop removed

The decision to move Singh out was taken after a series of meetings over the past two days: between chief minister Uddhav Thackeray of the Shiv Sena, and Sharad Pawar, chief of the Nationalist Congress Party which is an ally in the state’s ruling MVA government on Monday.

The Maharashtra government on Wednesday transferred Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh, replacing him with Hemant Nagrale, as it sought to reduce the collateral damage of the Sachin Vaze - Antilia explosives case, even as Opposition pointed to the close links between Mumbai Police officer Vaze and the Shiv Sena.

Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh seen at a press conference in this file picture from 2018. Hemant Nagrale took over as the city's top cop after Singh was transferred. (Bhushan Koyande/HT)

Singh is thus far the most high profile casualty of a sensational case that has roiled Mumbai.

The decision to move Singh out was taken after a series of meetings over the past two days: between chief minister Uddhav Thackeray of the Shiv Sena, and Sharad Pawar, chief of the Nationalist Congress Party which is an ally in the state’s ruling MVA government on Monday; then between the chief minister and ministers, including those from the Congress, the third member of the coalition on Wednesday; and finally between the chief ministers and senior state home department officials on Tuesday. Singh has been named Director General of Home Guards.

The idea is to clearly identify Singh as the person responsible for the handling of the Antilia explosives case, said a senior NCP minister who asked not to be named, referring to the case which has, over the past few weeks, played out like a Bollywood noir thriller leaving everyone confused as to the identity of the good guys, and the motives.

Soon after the meeting between Thackeray and Pawar, the ruling parties decided to distance themselves from Vaze. There was also concern, the NCP leader added that the image of the already beleaguered MVA government could take a beating if NIA, which is investigating the case decides to summon Singh.

Vaze was suspended on Monday. On Tuesday, NIA seized a Mercedes car used by the assistant police inspector, which further established his connection with the case, and HT reported , citing unnamed NIA officials that he may have orchestrated the whole thing to regain his stature and standing in the force by appearing to solve the case.

Vaze was suspended in 2004 over a case of custodial killing (which remains open), and reinstated only in June 2020 when the MVA came to power.

Addressing a press conference in Delhi after Singh’s transfer, former chief minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said: “Uddhavji Thackeray had called me up in 2018 requesting for the reinstatement of Vaze, but the advocate general’s advice was against it. After he was reinstated in June last year, he was on many a times was seen next to the CM Thackeray and other ministers.”

“Vaze was known to be a ‘recovery officer’,” Fadnavis added, alleging that the case could be an extortion attempt.

On February 25, an SUV was found outside Antilia, the residence of billionaire Mukesh Ambani, with explosives, and a threat letter. It emerged that the car had been reported stolen on February 17 by a car dealer from Thane, Mansukh Hiran. Vaze was named in charge of the investigation, but removed on March 2. On March 5, Hiran was found dead in mysterious circumstances. That case is being investigated by the Maharashtra ATS although there have been demands (including by Fadnavis on Wednesday) that NIA take over. Initial investigations revolved around the vehicle itself (which was borrowed by Vaze for months, and returned just a few days prior to it being found with explosives outside Antilia), and another vehicle which accompanied it, a mystery that appeared to have been solved earlier this week when NIA said the other vehicle was used by Mumbai Police. The motives for the crime remain unknown, although NIA officials, said on Tuesday that Vaze may have orchestrated the whole thing to regain his stature in the force.

Vaze was already a very prominent and high-profile officer, despite his relatively junior designation, and was involved in an investigation into fudged TV ratings, and was present during the highly controversial arrest of Republic TV’s Arnab Goswami.

The MVA government is hoping that the transfers will help manage the perception that it has mishandled the case.

“State government’s key decision- Shri Hemant Nagrale to become new police commissioner of Mumbai. Rajnish Sheth will be acting director general of police. Shri Sanjay Pandey will be director general of Maharashtra State Security Corporation. Shri Param Bir Singh, will head the home guards,” home minister Anil Deshmukh tweeted on Wednesday evening in Marathi.

The decision appears to have been finalised at a meeting of Thackeray with NCP ministers Ajit Pawar and Jayant Patil and Congress’s minister Ashok Chavan and Balasaheb Thorat on Wednesday morning.

Meanwhile, the controversy has also led to some differences between the ruling parties. According to the NCP leader cited in the first instance, some leaders from the alliance want Deshmukh, a NCP member, to go, although Pawar shot down this demand. The NCP leader said that Deshmukh has complained that he does not have a free hand in running the department. While state NCP chief Jayant Patil on Wednesday said that reports of Deshmukh’s imminent removal are just rumours, HT learns that there may a cabinet reshuffle a few months down the line.