Former Mumbai Police chief Param Bir Singh booked for extortion, fourth FIR against him in a month

The Mumbai Police on Friday filed a first information report against its former commissioner Param Bir Singh for alleged extortion, PTI reported.

The FIR has been lodged at the Goregaon police station following a complaint by a 48-year-old businessman identified as Bimal Agarwal, the agency quoted an official as saying.

This is the fourth case that the Maharashtra Police have filed against Singh. Of the other three cases, one has been filed in Mumbai and two in the neighbouring district of Thane.

The FIR lodged on Friday also named suspended police officer Sachin Waze and four others – Sumit Singh alias Chintu, Alpesh Patel, Vinay Singh alias Babloo and Riyaz Bhati, ANI reported.

The police have invoked sections 384, 385 (both of which deal with extortion) and section 34 (which deals with crimes committed by several persons with a common intention) of the Indian Penal Code in the matter.

Agarwal, the complainant, runs two hotels at Mumbai’s Goregaon and Andheri, according to The Indian Express. In his complaint, he alleged that the accused took Rs 9 lakh in cash and two mobile phones worth Rs 2.92 lakh from him. In exchange, the accused reportedly assured him that the police would not harass him in connection with the hotels.

Other cases involving Singh

Singh was removed as the Mumbai police commissioner in March after the arrest of Waze, who was accused of being involved in placing an explosives-laden vehicle at Carmichael road, close to the residence of industrialist Mukesh Ambani.

Singh subsequently accused former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh of extorting money from owners of bars, restaurants and hookah parlours in Mumbai.

The four extortion cases against Singh have all been filed within the past month, according to PTI.

On August 13, the Thane Police also said that a look-out notice has been issued against Singh. A look-out notice is issued to prevent a person from leaving the country.