Former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh has told the commission set up to investigate corruption allegations against former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh that he does not have any more evidence to share on the matter, PTI reported on Wednesday.
In an affidavit filed through his lawyer before the Justice Chandiwal Commission, Singh said he has nothing more to tell the panel apart from what has been mentioned in his letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
The senior Indian Police Service officer has not appeared before the commission despite it issuing multiple summons and a bailable warrant against him. On October 20, the Maharashtra government had told the Bombay High Court that it did not know of Singh’s whereabouts.
Singh’s lawyer on Wednesday confirmed that the affidavit was submitted to the panel during the last hearing.
Special Public Prosecutor Shishir Hirey, representing the inquiry commission, said Singh was also not ready for a cross-examination.
In March, Singh was shunted out from the post of Mumbai police commissioner after an SUV with 20 gelatin sticks was found near industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s home and the arrest of dismissed police officer Sachin Waze in the case.
Singh, who is currently the commandant general of Maharashtra Home Guards, later accused the Deshmukh and Vaze of corruption. In a letter to Thackeray, Singh said Vaze told him that Deshmukh had asked him to collect Rs 100 crore every month through illegal channels.
In March, the Maharashtra government formed the panel and asked (retired) Justice Kailash Uttamchand Chandiwal to look into the corruption allegations levelled by Singh against Deshmukh.
Deshmukh has repeatedly denied the accusations, but he resigned from the Maharashtra Cabinet on April 5. On Monday, a Mumbai court remanded him to the custody of the Enforcement Directorate till November 6 in the alleged money laundering case.
The commission had six months to determine if Singh’s allegations needed to be scrutinised by the anti-corruption bureau. It was also supposed to check if Singh has submitted enough evidence to establish Deshmukh’s crime.
In August, Singh had appealed to the Bombay High Court to disband the commission after it had rejected his objection to its continuation.
Singh is also facing investigation in a number of matters, including four extortion cases filed by the Maharashtra Police.
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