Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh on Saturday rubbished the allegations of extortion made by Param Bir Singh, who was recently removed as the Mumbai police commissioner over alleged mishandling of a bomb scare case near industrialist Mukesh Ambani's residence. "Deshmukh said that the former Mumbai top cop is trying to save himself as the involvement of Sachin Waze in Mukesh Ambani & Mansukh Hiren’s case is becoming clearer from the investigation carried out so far & threads are leading to Mr. Singh as well." in his tweet. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader said in other tweets that investigations are underway in these cases.
Deshmukh's party is one of the constituents of the ruling Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance. His reaction comes after some reports claimed that Singh wrote to Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, alleging that Deshmukh asked Sachin Vaze - a suspended policeman who has been arrested in connection with the case - to collect ₹100 crore from various establishments in Mumbai. The bomb scare case is being handled by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).The reports also said that Singh marked a copy of the letter to Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari and Union home ministry. On Wednesday, Singh was replaced by Hemant Nagrale. On Thursday, Deshmukh, who belongs to the NCP, told reporters that a few officers from Mumbai Police has committed “serious and unpardonable mistakes” that had come to light in the preliminary inquiry in the bomb scare case, and that Singh’s transfer was not “routine”. The NIA, meanwhile, also took over the probe into the death of Thane-based businessman Mansukh Hiran. His body was found in a Thane creek on March 5, days after the explosives-laden SUV was found parked outside Antilia.