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SC extends protection from arrest for ex-Mumbai top cop Param Bir Singh
The top court listed the matter for hearing again on January 11, 2022, and asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to file its affidavit on the plea filed by Singh.
The Supreme Court said on Monday former Mumbai Police commissioner Param Bir Singh cannot be arrested in criminal cases filed against him and told the department it can continue to probe the allegations against him but can’t file any chargesheet against the former top cop over allegations of misconduct and corruption.
The top court listed the matter for hearing again on January 11, 2022, and asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to file its affidavit on the plea filed by Singh.
The former Mumbai top cop is facing allegations of running an extortion racket along with dismissed assistant police inspector Sachin Vaze. The crime branch alleged that both of them along with two others were extorting hoteliers and bar owners in Maharashtra and the capital Mumbai.
Param Bir Singh absconded after writing to chief minister Uddhav Thackeray alleging that former home minister Anil Deshmukh directed crime branch officials to collect ₹100 crore every month from businessmen in Mumbai.
His letter to the chief minister came after his removal as the Mumbai Police commissioner. He was removed from office after explosives were found near Antilia, the residence of business tycoon Mukesh Ambani.
Sachin Vaze, who was arrested for allegedly planting those explosives and the murder of Mansukh Hiren, whose car was used for the operation, earlier said that he collected extortion money from hoteliers and bar owners at the behest of Param Bir Singh, whom he referred to as ‘number one’.
Param Bir Singh appeared in a Mumbai court after absconding for more than six months. He returned to Mumbai to assist with the probe following the Supreme Court’s order which granted him interim protection from arrest.
The Maharashtra government last week removed him from the position of the director general of Maharashtra Home Guard due to dereliction of duty.
There are five first information reports (FIRs) registered against him in Mumbai and Thane police stations between April 28 and August 20, 2021.
