Mumbai: The buzz that former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh may have escaped abroad as investigators were in the process of winding up the probe has now triggered political barbs being traded between Congress and the BJP.
“When the [Sachin] Waze episode happened, I had said that if I was in the government, I would have arrested Param Bir Singh first. This means the centre used this IPS officer to defame the state government and so that is why they have aided Param Bir Singh in escaping abroad,” Chief of Maharashtra Congress, Nana Patole said.
Countering Patole, BJP spokesperson Ram Kadam said, “When Param Bir Singh wrote a letter and brought the ₹ 100-crore extortion allegation to the forefront the fight started then. So that Param Bir Singh does not name his political bosses, has he been sent abroad by his political bosses?”
The allegations surfaced a day after Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil revealed that Singh was missing. Singh’s handling of the bomb scare near Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani’s home earlier this year has raised questions and he is facing a series of extortion cases.
“Along with the Union Home Ministry, we’re also searching for his whereabouts. I’ve heard something like that but as a government officer, he can’t go abroad without government clearance. We’ve issued a Lookout Circular and if he went away, then it is not good,” Patil said while reacting to reports of Singh fleeing to Russia.
“Whether it is a minister, officer, or Chief Minister, there are limitations and without the permission of the government of India one cannot go outside the country. No one can cross these limitations. What action can be taken will have to be discussed with the centre. Maharashtra government is looking for him and once he is found we will decide,” added the Home Minister.
It may be recalled that an SUV packed with gelatin sticks was found at Carmichael Road, near the residence of Mukesh Ambani on February 25. The car belonged to Mansukh Hiren whose body was later recovered from Thane’s Kalwa creek.
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