Further trouble brews up for former Mumbai Police commissioner Param Bir Singh, as the Maharashtra Anti Corruption Bureau received permission from the state government to conduct an “open inquiry” against Singh on corruption charges.
The probe is based on a letter that was written to the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government by Inspector Anup Dange, who had alleged that Singh demanded money to reinstate him in the Mumbai Police force when he was under suspension last year.
The ACB is also probing a second complaint against Singh, in which another inspector had written to the government accusing him of corruption.
It was based on the claims made by these two officers that ACB began a “discreet” investigation against Singh, who had denied all allegations.
As per law, only after the competent authority in case of government employees gives permission can ACB probe an official. The ACB has already recorded Anoop Dange’s statement and submitted a report to the Maharashtra govt seeking to conduct an ‘open probe’. Dange had alleged that he was asked to pay Rs 2 crore by Singh’s relative for being reinstated into the police force.
In a letter to the Maharashtra Home department, Dange claimed that Param Bir Singh after taking charge as Mumbai Police Commissioner, suspended him because he had filed an FIR against a very influential person accused in 2019 and the CP wanted his name to be dropped from the charge sheet. Even before taking charge as CP, Param Bir Singh as DG ACB had opposed the filing of the FIR, it added. Dange, who was recently reinstated by the state government, alleged that Param Bir Singh had close connections with underworld gangsters claiming he had evidence against Param Bir’s ‘deep-rooted connections”. Singh has already been accused by Police Inspector Bhimrao Ghadge of stopping the probe on collusion between builders and officials of the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) to dupe the State government of Rs. 124 crore.
Ghadge alleged that Singh had ordered him to drop the names of 3 Municipal Commissioners, 12 KDMC officials, and 7 builders from the charge sheet, and on refusing to do so led to Ghadge’s wrongful imprisonment in a frivolous case till he was acquitted by a Sessions Court in September 2017.
Apart from Ghadge, three bookies have accused Singh of extortion and slapping false cases against them in a cricket betting case for Rs 45 lakhs.