Param Bir Singh's allegations are serious, need probe: Sharad Pawar

Says will discuss with Thackeray if home minister should be axed

NCP president Sharad Pawar on Sunday said the allegations levelled by former Mumbai police chief Param Bir Singh against Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh are serious and require an in-depth probe.

Singh has claimed Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh wanted police officers to collect Rs 100 crore monthly from bars and hotels. Pawar suggested that Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will take a decision in this matter and also action against Deshmukh. 
 

Pawar said neither Thackeray nor Deshmukh were responsible for reinstatement of police officer Sachin Waze in the police force last year.

The NCP chief said he has spoken to Thackeray regarding Singh’s letter. “I would suggest to Thackeray to seek former IPS officer Julio Ribeiro’s help for looking into the claims made by Singh,” he added.

Pawar said Singh made the allegations after his transfer on March 17 to the Home Guards.

BJP workers on Sunday staged protests in Nagpur and Pune demanding resignation of Deshmukh. Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad called for a “fair and impartial probe by an outside agency” into the controversy. BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis said Pawar was trying to save the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in view of allegations of corruption levelled by Singh.

The NCP supremo said there was no impact on the government because of Singh’s allegations. Efforts are on to destabilise the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government but they will prove futile, he said. NCP state chief Jayant Patil said the question of Deshmukh resigning does not arise. Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut admitted the charged have tainted the government’s image, and said all allies need to introspect if their feet are on the ground. The Congress, said Singh might be under pressure of central agencies.