Dismissed Mumbai Police officer Sachin Vaze on Wednesday told an inquiry commission that former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh’s private secretary had never asked him to make monetary collections, PTI reported.
The Maharashtra government had appointed the Chandiwal Commission in March to look into former Mumbai Police chief Param Bir Singh’s allegations against Deshmukh.
Singh had alleged that Deshmukh had asked Vaze to collect Rs 100 crore every month through illegal channels.
In a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Singh had alleged that Deshmukh’s private secretary Sanjeev Palande was coordinating with Vaze and two other police offers regarding the collection of money from bars and restaurants in Mumbai, The Indian Express reported.
However, while deposing in front of the Chandiwal Commission on Wednesday, Vaze denied any such nexus. During cross examination by Palande’s lawyer, Vaze said that while he had met Deshmukh’s private secretary at the minister’s house, he had never demanded money, according to The Indian Express.
Vaze’s statement came a day after Singh told the inquiry commission that his allegations against Deshmukh were “hearsay”. On Tuesday, the former Mumbai Police chief’s lawyer told the commission that he had made the accusations based on information provided to him by other police officers.
Deshmukh had resigned from the Maharashtra Cabinet due to the allegations made against him. In April, the Central Bureau of Investigation had filed a case against him based on Singh’s claims. In June, the Enforcement Directorate initiated a money laundering case against the Nationalist Congress Party leader on the basis of the chargesheet filed by CBI.
He is currently in judicial custody for the money laundering case against him.
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