Param Bir Singh fined Rs 25,000 for not appearing before inquiry commission

An inquiry commission headed by a retired high court judge has imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh for not appearing before it.

The Maharashtra government in March this year formed a one-member commission of Justice (retd) Kailash Uttamchand Chandiwal to conduct a probe into corruption allegations levelled by Singh against the then state home minister Anil Deshmukh.

As Singh failed to appear before the commission on Wednesday, a fine of Rs 25,000 was imposed on him, a government lawyer said on Thursday.

During the previous hearing, the probe panel had given Singh the "last chance" to appear before it.

This is the second instance of fine being imposed on Singh.

In June, the commission had asked the senior IPS officer to pay a fine Rs 5,000 for not appearing before it despite a summons. The amount was to be deposited in the Chief Minister's COVID-19 Relief Fund.

Days after he was shunted out as Mumbai police commissioner and transferred to the Home Guards in March, Singh claimed in a letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray that Deshmukh used to ask police officers to collect money from restaurant and bar owners in Mumbai.

Deshmukh, an NCP leader, has denied the allegations.

The Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate are probing the allegations made against Deshmukh by the senior IPS officer.