Maharashtra government drops all charges against ex-Mumbai top cop

Maharashtra government on Friday (May 12) dropped all charges against Param Bir Singh, former commissioner of police, Mumbai. These charges were brought against him during the departmental enquiry initiated against him by the Maha Vikas Aghadi government which ruled the state before the current dispensation headed by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

In spite of dropping of charges, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will continue to probe five cases registered against Singh. The retired officer of Indian Police Service (IPS) faces multiple cases of extortion, corruption and misconduct.

Param Bir Singh was Police Commissioner when journalist and anchor Arnab Goswami was arrested by Mumbai Police.

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Speaking to reporters in Nagpur, deputy chief minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis said the government decided to revoke Singh's suspension order following the Central Administrative Tribunal's (CAT) decision to close the departmental inquiry against him.

Fadnavis added that CAT order deemed the departmental inquiry wrongful. The order revoking Singh's suspension and withdrawing all charges against him related to the departmental enquiry initiated in 2021 were issued by the state home department on Wednesday (May 10).

According to the order, the period of the former IPS officer's suspension should be treated as if he was on duty. At least four cases of extortion were registered against Singh in Mumbai and adjoining Thane.

During his decades-long police career, Param Bir Singh served as commissioner of both, Mumbai and Thane.

He was transferred from the post of Mumbai Police Commissioner in March 2021 after Assistant Police Inspector Sachin Waze was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The arrest was made in connection with seizure of explosives-laden SUV from near business tycoon Mukesh Ambani's residence in Mumbai.

After this, Param Bir Singh wrote an explosive letter to the then chief minister of Maharashtra Uddhav Thackeray. In the letter, Singh alleged that then home minister Anil Deshmukh had asked police officers to collect Rs 100 crore (more than USD 12 million) per month from hotels in Mumbai. Deshmukh had denied the allegations.

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The then Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government had placed Singh under suspension and put his salary on hold. The government also initiated a departmental enquiry against the senior police officer and eight serious charges were pressed against him during the proceedings, the order mentioned. Singh submitted his statement of defence in December 2021 through email and denied all charges.

(With inputs from agencies)

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