News Analysis India

Tag: Mumbai Police

  • MVA discusses Deshmukh’s future; Julio Ribeiro refuses to probe Param Bir’s letter

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, state unit NCP chief Jayant Patil, and Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut separately met NCP supremo Sharad Pawar in Delhi on Sunday evening in view of former Mumbai police chief Param Bir Singh’s allegations of corruption against state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh.

    The meetings took place hours after Pawar told reporters that Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will decide the fate of Deshmukh, an NCP leader, amid speculation in state political circles that Maharashtra may soon have a new home minister.

    Singh has claimed Deshmukh wanted police officers to collect Rs 100 crore monthly from bars and hotels in Mumbai.

    Deshmukh had denied these allegations as baseless.

    However, what transpired during the meetings at Pawar’s residence in Delhi could not be known.

    Earlier in the day, Raut told reporters in Mumbai that allegations of Singh against Deshmukh and the Sachin Waze episode have dented the image of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in the state.

    Waze was arrested by the NIA, which is probing the recovery of an explosives-laden vehicle from outside the south Mumbai residence of industrialist Mukesh Ambani last month and also the alleged murder of businessman Mansukh Hiran, the purported owner of that SUV.

    Raut said all allies- the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress- need to introspect if their “feet are on the ground”.

    “Anil Deshmukh’s side also needs to be heard before taking any decision on him. We will take a decision on Deshmukh by tomorrow,” Pawar told reporters.

    Jayant Patil, who is also the state Water Resources Minister, had said that the Delhi visit was planned three days ago.

    “The Pandharpur Assembly bypoll is scheduled next month. Ajit Pawar and I decided to meet party workers in Solapur district to know their views over the selection of candidate and the party strategy, and then meet Pawar saheb in Delhi with the feedback before returning to Mumbai,” he said.

    “Accordingly, both of us are in Pandharpur to discuss issues related to the bypoll with party workers,” he said. The Pandharpur bypoll is scheduled to be held on April 17. It was necessitated due to the death of NCP MLA Bharat Bhalke last year.

    Meanwhile, Congress sources said Central leaders of the party are in touch with leaders in Maharashtra on the developments regarding Deshmukh.

    A Congress leader told PTI on Sunday night that the CM was in touch with all prominent leaders of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance in view of Singh’s letter.

    “I don’t think Anil Deshmukh will be asked to resign, as it will amount to accepting the allegations made against him,” he said.

    Meanwhile, former IPS officer Julio Ribeiro on Sunday rejected NCP chief Sharad Pawar’s suggestion that he should probe Singh’s claim that Home Minister Anil Deshmukh asked suspended police officer Sachin Waze to collect Rs 100 crore every month.

    ALSO READ | Won’t be fair to comment as NCP chief has spoken: Congress on graft charges against Deshmukh

    “I am not available. Nobody (in state government) has contacted me. And in any case even if they contact me, I am unavailable,” Ribeiro told PTI when asked about Pawar’s suggestion.

    “I am 92 years old. Nobody goes around doing this work at the age of 92. If the inquiry is against the home minister of Maharashtra, then Mr Pawar should make it because he is the head of the (ruling) party,” Ribeiro said.

    Ribeiro is a former Mumbai police commissioner, who eventually became the chief of Gujarat and Punjab police and was later named India’s ambassador to Romania.

    “Why should a retired police officer be asked to do this,” he said.

    Earlier in the day, Pawar told reporters in Delhi that he would suggest Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to seek Ribeiros help to investigate the claims made by Singh.

    In a letter to Thackeray, Param Bir Singh alleged that Anil Deshmukh instructed suspended Mumbai police officer Sachin Waze to collect Rs 100 crore every month for him.

    Pawar’s comments came during a media briefing at Delhi amid speculation in state political circles that Maharashtra may soon have a new home minister.

    The allegations leveled by Singh against Dehsmukh are serious and require an in-depth probe, Pawar said.

    Singh has claimed that Deshmukh wanted police officers to collect Rs 100 crore monthly for him from bars and hotels.

    Pawar indicated that Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will take a decision in this matter soon and also action against Deshmukh.

    “We will take a decision on Deshmukh by tomorrow,” Pawar said.

    Deshmukh’s side also needs to be heard before taking any decision, he added.

    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.

    ALSO READ | BJP workers hold protests for resignation of Maharashtra Home minister Anil Deshmukh

    “I would suggest Thackeray to seek former IPS officer Julio Ribeiro’s help for looking into the claims made by Param Bir Singh,” he said.

    Ribeiro rejected the idea, saying he is unavailable for this kind of work.

    “I am 92 years old. Nobody goes around doing this work at the age of 92. If the inquiry is against the home minister of Maharashtra, then Mr Pawar should make it because he is the head of the (ruling) party,” Ribeiro told PTI.

    Pawar said Singh had complained to him aboutpolitical interference in police department.

    He said Singh had spoken of reports about his transfer, saying it would be an injustice to him.

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

    There is no impact on the MVA government because of Singh’s allegations, Pawar said.

    Efforts are on to destabilise the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government in Maharashtra but they will prove futile, he added.

    In the eight-page letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Singh alleged that Deshmukh used to call police officers to his official residence and give them a “collection target” from bars, restaurants and other establishments.

    Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut admitted that the allegations made by Singh against Deshmukh and about the Waze case have tainted the image of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in the state.

    Raut saio all the MVA allies need to introspect if their feet are on the ground.

    Former chief minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis said Pawar was trying to save the Maha Vikas Aghadi government amid allegations of corruption leveled by Singh against Deshmukh.

    “How were important postings and cases given to Waze without the knowledge of the chief minister and the home minister?” Fadnavis told reporters in Nagpur.

    Waze is in the custody of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for his alleged role in placing an explosives- laden SUV outside the south Mumbai residence of industrialist Mukesh Ambani last month.

    The NIA is also probing the alleged murder of Thane- based businessman Mansukh Hiran who was in possession of that SUV.

    ALSO READ | Allegations against Deshmukh: Sharad Pawar trying to save Maha govt, says Fadnavis

    “As the architect of the MVA government, Pawar is trying to save it, Fadnavis said and reiterated his demand for resignation of Deshmukh and a court-monitored probe into the allegations made by Singh.”

    “Waze (a former encounter specialist who was suspended after the alleged custodial death of bomb blast suspect Khwaja Yunis in 2003) was reinstated by a committee headed by Param Bir Singh. But how is it possible that he got important cases and postings without the knowledge of the CM and the home minister?” Fadnavis said.

    Former MP Sanjay Nirupam said his Congress party must take a stand on Singh’s claim that Deshmukh wanted police officers to collect Rs 100 crore monthly from bars and hotels.

    Meanwhile, BJP workers on Sunday staged demonstrations in various parts of the state demanding Deshmukh’s resignation over Singh’s letter.

    BJP workers led by former state energy minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule staged protests at Sanvidhan square in Nagpur and raised slogans against the Maha Vikas Aghadi government.

    A demonstration was organised by BJP Yuva Morcha wokers outside Deshmukh’s residence in Nagpur.

  • Letter to Maharashtra CM was sent from my email ID, says ex-Mumbai top cop Param Bir Singh

    By ANI
    Former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh has claimed that the letter sent to Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray was indeed sent from his email ID.

    “An unsigned letter in the name of Param Bir Singh, commandant general of Home Guards” was received on the official email ID of the chief minister’s secretariat in the afternoon, the Chief Minister’s Office said on Saturday.

    Param Bir Singh had alleged that Home Minister Anil Deshmukh had ordered to file a case of abetment to suicide in MP Mohan Delkar’s death who was found dead in Mumbai on February 22 this year.

    In a letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackrey, yesterday, Singh stated: “Abetment to suicide case in Mohan Delkar’s death was ordered to be filed by Home Minister Anil Deshmukh despite the legal opinion of experts being against this FIR.”

    ALSO READ: Letter from Param Bir Singh sent via unofficial email id without signature: Uddhav’s office

    Singh, who has now been posted as Commandant General of Home Guards, said that he has been “made a scapegoat to divert attention from the actual wrongdoers” also alleged that the FIR was filed for political mileage and he (Parambir Singh) had opposed the idea of said FIR in this case during a meeting of ministers including Chief Minister.

    Two people arrested by Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) in Mansukh Hiren death case. @NewIndianXpress
    — Sudhir Suryawanshi (@ss_suryawanshi) March 21, 2021

    “From day one, the Home Minister desired a case of abetment of suicide to be registered at Mumbai. My professional view after seeking appropriate legal advice was that while the suicide had occurred in Mumbai, all the alleged acts of abetment had taken place in Dadra & Nagar Haveli. Thus, the abetment of suicide, if any, was required to be investigated by the Police at Dadra & Nagar Haveli who would have jurisdiction in that regard. You will recollect that in a briefing held at Varsha soon after the incident in the presence of a Minister and several other officials, after I drew attention of all concerned about my view, there was general agreement that the alleged acts of abetment could only be investigated by the Police at Dadra & Nagar Haveli,” the letter read.

    ALSO READ: Param Bir Singh letter bomb – Full text of former Mumbai top cop’s letter to Maharashtra CM

    “Dutybound to do so, I held to my professional view as advised by legal experts. The Home Minister kept insisting otherwise despite having been informed by me about the opinion of legal experts on this issue. Due to my resistance, the Home Minister was unhappy with me as the political mileage desired to be derived from the registration of the abetment of the suicide case.

    Despite being fully aware of the opinion of the legal experts, the general opinion and the reasons behind it, the Home Minister announced the setting up of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) and registration of an FIR into the alleged case on March 9 2021, the letter continued to read.

    Meanwhile, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh yesterday said he is filing a defamation suit against the former Mumbai Police Commissioner.

  • Letter from Param Bir Singh sent via unofficial email id without signature: Uddhav’s office

    By Agencies
    MUMBAI: The unsigned letter sent by former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, leveling allegations of corruption against Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, is being “verified”, an official statement said on Saturday night.

    “An unsigned letter in the name of Param Bir Singh, commandant general of Home Guards” was received on the official email ID of the chief minister’s secretariat in the afternoon, the Chief Minister’s Office said.

    The email ID from where the letter was sent was being verified and the state home department was trying to contact Singh, the statement said.

    Letter from Param Bir Singh was received at 4:37 pm today via a different email address, not his official one & was without his signature. The new email address needs to be checked. Home Ministry is trying to contact him for the same: Chief Minister’s Office, Maharashtra
    — ANI (@ANI) March 20, 2021

    The verification was needed as Singh’s email id in the official record was different, it said.

    Singh’s letter alleged that Deshmukh used to ask police officers to collect funds from bars, restaurants and other establishments.

    Deshmukh said in a statement that the allegations were false and part of a conspiracy by Singh to save himself and malign the image of the MVA government.

  • Security scare to Ambanis: NIA likely to take over Mansukh Hiren death case

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:  Amid intense opposition pressure on the Maharashtra government, the NIA is likely to take over the probe of Mansukh Hiren death case that is linked to the bomb scare outside Mukesh Ambani’s residence.

    The central agency is already investigating the case of explosive-laden SUV being found near Antilia last month and had arrested encounter specialist Mumbai police officer Sachin Waze in this connection.

    Since the two cases are interlinked, opposition BJP has been demanding that the Hiren death case should also be handed over to the NIA. Waze, alleged to be involved in both cases, is currently suspended.

    Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh met NCP chief Sharad Pawar in Delhi on Friday and briefed him about the developments related to the two cases. Deshmukh, whose handling of the entire affair has come under scrutiny, said the police would cooperate with the NIA in the entire case.

    “NIA and ATS (Maharashtra Anti-Terrorist Squad) both are probing the case. Whoever is guilty will be punished… Necessary action will be taken by the state government after the NIA completes its probe,” he said.

    Two senior NIA officials Inspector General Anil Shukla and Superintendent of Police Vikram Khalate met the new Mumbai police commissioner Hemant Nagrale on Friday afternoon.

    ALSO READ | Ambani security scare: Waze, Hiran seen meeting on the day Scorpio was ‘stolen’

    Also, a forensic team from Pune reached Mumbai on Friday to investigate the vehicles, shirt, bottles etc. seized by the NIA team.

    Meanwhile, a Thane sessions court denied relief to Waze and adjourned his anticipatory bail application filed in connection with Hiren’s death for hearing on March 30.

    A special NIA court in Mumbai also rejected his plea to meet his lawyers privately while in NIA custody. The agency told the court that the officer was not cooperating in investigation.

    Waze is in NIA custody till March 25. The ATS has also demanded his custody.

    As per Waze’s call records and CCTV footage obtained by the ATS, the officer met Hiren twice before the bomb scare incident.

    CCTV footage recovered from a spot near CSMT showed that the two had met on February 17, the day Hiren’s SUV was allegedly stolen, an ATS official said.

    Waze and Hiren came separately, sat in a Mercedes (which has since been seized by the NIA) for about 10 minutes and then left. The ATS suspects that Hiren handed over the SUV’s keys to  Waze during this meeting, sources said. 

  • CM Uddhav Thackeray pitches ‘Marathi manoos’ agenda in crucial government appointments 

    Express News Service
    MUMBAI: Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray has been pitching the son of the soil, Marathi manoos, agenda while appointing the top administrative and police posts in the state.

    After the arrest of API Sachin Waze, Uddhav Thackeray shunted Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh and brought back the Maharashtra DG police Hemant Nagrale in Mumbai police.

    As part of the son of the soil agenda, another ‘Marathi manoos’ Vishwas Nagare Patil was earlier appointed joint police commissioner, law and order while Milind Bharambe has given the charge of joint commissioner crime.

    Interestingly, Maharashtra chief secretary Sitaram Kunte is also a Marathi manoos. Interestingly, the Bihar cadre IPS office Shivdeep Lande has been promoted to DIG of Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS).

    While choosing Hemant Nagrale as the Mumbai police commissioner in the place of Parambir Singh, NCP has finalised the 1988 batch IPS officer Rajnish Seth as the new police commissioner.

    But chief minister Uddhav Thackeray overruled and insisted Marathi manoos Hemant Nagrale who comes from a very humble background as the new CP of Mumbai. When Parambir Singh was earlier chosen as Mumbai CP, that time also Uddhav Thackeray was reluctant, but NCP chief Sharad Pawar insisted on appointing Parambir Singh as Mumbai CP.

    “Thackeray is very comfortable with Marathi manoos that helps him to expand his party base and espouse his party agenda as well,” said a source in government on request of anonymity.

    Sanjay Pandey, Maharashtra’s senior-most cops lashed out at Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government for wrecking his career till the end. Pandey said he was the senior-most police officer and still wasn’t appointed for Mumbai police commissioner and DG, Police Maharashtra. Pandey was given the side posting, as a head of Maharashtra state security cooperation.

    Pandey in his complaint letter to chief minister Uddhav Thackeray said that the injustice has been done with him during the recent transfer. He said Uddhav Thackeray and NCP chief Sharad Pawar applauded his work and yet ignored him for top-posting.

    Surendra Jhondale, professor of Political Science at Mumbai University said that the “Shiv Sena was born for Marathi manoos agenda, now they are in power and hence are pursuing this agenda aggressively.”

    “But Uddhav Thackeray is also checking out efficiency and uprightness of the the officer while appointing them at crucial posts. This Maha Vikas Aghadi government is constantly fighting with the BJP led powerful centre government therefore Thackeray and Pawar needs the trusted, loyal and efficient lieutenants that will not succumb before the Delhi’s pressure in this long-drawn battle,” said Jondhale.

  • Why Mumbai police held press conference over TRP scam? Asks Bombay HC

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday asked what had prompted the Mumbai police to hold a press conference last year over the alleged Television Rating Points (TRP) scam.

    “Does the police have an obligation to interact with the press? Why did the commissioner (of police) have to speak to the press?” a bench of Justices SS Shinde and Manish Pitale asked.

    The court was hearing pleas filed by ARG Outlier Media Pvt Ltd, the company that owns Republic TV channels, and by journalist Arnab Goswami, seeking, among other reliefs, that the Mumbai police’s probe into the TRP scam be transferred to the CBI or any other independent agency.

    The bench was responding to the arguments made by the ARG Outlier Media’s counsel, senior advocate Ashok Mundargi.

    Mundargi told the high court that the police had malafide intentions behind holding the press conference in October last year.

    He also said there was no evidence against Republic TV and its Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami, but the police were trying to name them as accused “by hook or by crook”.

    “The police were feeding the press that a particular scam took place. This points out that there was not sufficient material to say whatever was being said,” Mundargi argued.

    He also said the police had arrested some employees of the ARG Outlier Media and named them as accused persons in their remand applications.

    However, in the charge sheet, the police had named the channel and ARG Outlier Media’s employees merely as suspects, he said.

    Mundargi also said that Sachin Waze, who had been handling the probe into the alleged scam, and who is now suspended over his alleged involvement in another case, was a controversial officer.

    “The investigation has taken a peculiar angle. In the charge sheet they are suspects, they are arrested and then they are shown as wanted accused,” Mundargi said.

    “The officer (Waze) is also very controversial. This is the chain of events,” he said.

    The HC will continue hearing the final arguments in the case on Wednesday. The Maharashtra government’s statement made earlier this month to refrain from taking any coercive action against Goswami and the ARG Outlier Media’s employees will continue till then.

    The ARG Outlier Media and Goswami approached the HC last year filing a bunch of petitions seeking several reliefs in the TRP scam.

    They alleged that the whole case was malafide and they had been targeted for Republic TV’s reportage in connection with the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput and the Palghar lynching case last year.

    The Mumbai police in January this year filed two affidavits in the TRP case through Commissioner of Police Param Bir Singh and ACP Shashank Sandbhor of the crime branch, saying they had not targeted the Republic TV or its employees.

    The police said their probe into the case was not a result of any political vendetta and there was evidence to show that Goswami had connived with senior officials of the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) to rig the TRP of Republic TV.

  • Family came to know about Sachin Waze’s arrest through media: Cop’s brother

    Sudharma Waze also alleged that his brother Sachin is being implicated in the case.

  • Bomb threat to Ambanis: NIA to present Mumbai cop Sachin Waze before court on Sunday

    By ANI
    MUMBAI: The National Investigating Agency (NIA) will present Sachin Waze, an assistant police inspector with the Mumbai Police who was arrested in connection with the investigation into the recovery of explosives from a car parked near Mukesh Ambani’s house in Mumbai, before a special court on Sunday to demand his custody.

    This came days after Waze, was who was leading the investigating of Mansukh Hiren’s death in the Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU), was transferred to the Citizen Facilitation Centre at the Mumbai Police Headquarters.

    “Sachin Waze API Mumbai Police Crime Branch has been arrested for his role and involvement in Placing an explosives-laden vehicle near Carmichael Road (near Mukesh Ambani’s house) on 25th February 2021,” said an official statement of NIA.

    Waze was summoned to the NIA office on Saturday to record his statement, in connection with the recovery of explosives from a car parked near Mukesh Ambani’s house in Mumbai. Later, he was arrested under section 286, 465, 473, 506(2), 120 B of the Indian Penal Code, and 4(a)(b)(I) of the Explosive Substances Act 1908.

    In 2004 also, Waze was arrested and suspended from service in connection with Khawja Yunus custodial death case. He and other cops were named in the charge sheet.

    After his release , the controversial joined the Shiv Sena and after 16 years of suspension, he had joined the Mumbai police again in 2019 in crime branch. 

    Earlier on Saturday, sensing his arrest, Waze had posted an emotional post on his WhatsApp DP.

    “3 March 2004, fellow officers from the CID arrested me in the false case (see the box to know more about this Khaja Yunus case). That arrest inclusive till date, sending the history is going to repeat. My fellow officers are on to falsely trap me. There is a slight difference in the scenario. Probably, I had 17 years of hope, patience, life and service too. Now, I will have neither 17 years of further life nor service nor patience to live. I think the time to say goodbye to the world is coming closer,” He said in his message.

    The Opposition earlier demanded the Waze’s arrest in connection with Mansukh Hiren death case while the government transferred him from Crime Branch to another department.

    The encounter specialist also approached the Thane session court for anticipatory bail.

    In his bail plea, Waze said that the fraudulent case has been made against him to trap and end his career.

    He also claimed that he has nothing to do with what mentioned in FIR against him.

    “On the basis of falsified information in FIR, no one can be arrested. There is no substance in allegations made against him. He was staying in Thane so he knew Mansukh Hiren that cannot be the criteria to arrest me. I have no connections with Mansukh Hiren death case,” Waze stated in his plea.

    However, the Court refused to give interim relief to Sachin Waze and asked the concern authorities to submit the probe report.  

    A car carrying unassembled explosive materials was found abandoned at Carmichael Road in South Mumbai on February 25, near the house of Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani.

    Hire, the owner of the vehicle, was found dead in a creek in the Thane district on Friday. Now, ATS Maharashtra is investigating the case.

    Hiren’s wife blamed Waze for her husband’s death and demanded a high-level inquiry. She also alleged that the cop was pressuring her husband to get arrested in the bomb scare case.

    (With ENS Inputs)

  • Bomb threat to Ambanis: Fadnavis demands Mumbai cop’s arrest as SUV owner’s wife claims foul play

    By Express News Service
    MUMBAI: Maharashtra Assembly on Tuesday saw noisy scenes as leader of opposition Devendra Fadnavis demanded the arrest of a police officer in the Mansukh Hiran death case, and Home Minister Anil Deshmukh blamed the former chief minister for “covering up” the Anvay Naik suicide case.

    Fadnavis demanded action against API Sachin Vaze in connection with the death of Hiran who was in possession of the SUV with explosives found outside industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s house in south Mumbai.

    The Naik suicide case, in which journalist Arnab Goswami had been arrested, was raked up, with the home minister saying the government will probe the “cover-up” of the case by then chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.

    The House was adjourned seven times with MLAs ignoring COVID-19 norms of physical distancing and use of masks.

    A Scorpio, with 20 gelatin sticks inside, was found near Antilia, Ambani’s high-rise residence in south Mumbai, on February 25.

    Police said the vehicle was stolen from Hiran’s possession on February 18.

    The mystery deepened after Hiran’s body was found in a creek last Friday in neighbouring Thane.

    Citing the statement by Hiran’s wife, Fadnavis claimed that Vaze was in possession of the car for four months.

    “The Innova car which was behind the Scorpio is in Mumbai as per my information.

    Give me some time, I will trace it,” he added.

    Fadnavis claimed that Hiran’s wife had alleged in her statement to police that her husband may have been killed by assistant police inspector Sachin Vaze.

    “She told police that her husband knew Vaze and the Scorpio was with the police officer from November 2020 to February 5, 2021,” Fadnavis said.

    “She had also said her husband was with Vaze on February 27, 28 and March 2.

    The complaint letter (of Hiran) addressed to the chief minister, deputy chief minister and police commissioners of Mumbai and Thane was written on the instructions of Vaze,” Fadnavis alleged.

    The BJP leader claimed that Hiran’s last location was found with Dhananjay Vithal Gawde, against whom an FIR was lodged in an extortion case.

    The other person mentioned in the same FIR was Sachin Vaze, Fadnavis added.

    As Fadnavis raised the Hiran case, minister and Shiv Sena leader Anil Parab sought the arrest of those named in Delkar’s suicide note.

    Delkar (58), a seven-term MP from the Dadra and Nagar Haveli, was found dead at a hotel on Marine Drive in south Mumbai on February 22.

    The home minister announced formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe Delkar’s death.

    Deshmukh said Delkar had mentioned in the suicide note that he was under pressure from the Union Territory’s administrator Praful Kheda Patel who had been a minister in the Narendra Modi-led cabinet in Gujarat.

    ALSO READ | Something fishy: Uddhav Thackeray on NIA taking over Ambani bomb threat probe

    Fadnavis said Vaze was being protected as he belonged to the ruling party.

    Vaze had joined the Shiv Sena in 2008 while under suspension.

    Vaze was suspended in the Khwaja Yunus custodial death case and but was reinstated in his job last year during the COVID-19 lockdown, Fadnavis said.

    “When I was the chief minister, the issue of reinstating Vaze had come up but the advocate general had advised against it,” Fadnavis said.

    While announcing the SIT probe in the Delkar case, home minister Deshmukh said the MP had said in the suicide note that he was ending his life in Mumbai as he had faith in Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra government.

    “Earlier, IAS officer Rajesh Kumar Shrivastav from Madhya Pradesh had ended his life in Nagpur in Maharashtra, the minister said.

    “This officer felt he will not get justice in Raipur, in a BJP-ruled state,” Deshmukh said.

    BJP members were quick to point out that the officer was from Chhattisgarh and not Madhya Pradesh.

    “The home minister feels happy that people come to Maharashtra to commit suicide. He doesn’t even know Raipur is in Chhattisgarh and not in Madhya Pradesh,” Fadnavis said.

    Deshmukh said he had already corrected himself.

    Fadnavis wondered if the home minister wanted Maharashtra to be known as a place where people come to die.

    “Is this a matter of pride,” the BJP leader asked.

    ALSO READ | NIA takes over case of explosives-laden vehicle found near Ambani residence

    Jumping into the debate on the Mansukh Hiran death case, Nana Patole of the Congress asked how did Fadnavis get hold of the call data record (CDR), and how an unidentified vehicle could reach so close to Ambani’s house.

    Patole also asked on what basis Fadnavis said the vehicle found outside Ambani’s house did not have explosives.

    Bhaskar Jadhav (Shiv Sena) said the BJP was targeting Vaze as he had arrested Goswami in the Naik suicide case.

    Deshmukh said Fadnavis’s own role in the “cover-up” of that case will be probed.

    Fadnavis said the government was resorting to threats to save Vaze, and dared it to order a probe against him.

    As noisy scenes continued despite several adjournments, the House was adjourned for the day.

    Meanwhile, Vimla Hiran, wife of Mansukh Hiran, has alleged in her statement to the ATS that Vaze might have killed her husband.

    The police officer did not offer comment immediately on the allegations.

    After a Scorpio with explosives was found near industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s house in south Mumbai on February 25, Hiran, a Thane resident, had claimed it had been stolen from his possession a week earlier.

    Hiran himself was found dead in Thane creek on March 5.

    Vimla Hiran recorded her statement before the state Anti-Terrorism Squad, which is probing the case, on March 7.

    According to the statement, the Scorpio, owned by Dr Peter Newton, was in the possession of the Hiran family for the past three years with Dr Newton’s consent.

    ALSO READ | Bomb threat to Ambanis: Mansukh Hiren’s family must get justice, says Congress

    Her husband knew API Vaze who was a regular client of Mansukh’s car decor business, she said.

    In November 2020, he had given the Scorpio to Vaze to use, Vimla Hiran said, adding that the police officer returned it on February 5, 2021, through a driver.

    Her husband had then told her that the steering of the SUV was hard, she said.

    On February 17 Mansukh left for Mumbai in the SUV for business-related trip, but as the steering got jammed, he left it after crossing the Mulund toll plaza and took a cab, she said.

    The next day when he returned to the spot with one of his employees, it was missing, so he lodged a complaint of car theft at Vikhroli Police Station, she said.

    On February 25, when the SUV with gelatin sticks was found near Ambani’s house, her husband got a call from an ATS inspector, she said.

    Mansukh and their son Lucky then went to meet the officer near their building, she told the police.

    The officer showed him a picture of the SUV and Hiran identified it.

    He later told her that he went with Sachin Vaze to the Mumbai police’s crime branch the next morning for inquiry and returned around 10.30 pm with Vaze.

    He showed her a copy of his recorded statement which also bore the name and signature of Vaze, Vimla told the ATS.

    On March 2, Mansukh told her that he had gone to Mumbai with Vaze, and on his insistence filed a complaint addressed to the Chief Minister, Home Minister and police commissioners of Mumbai and Thane about harassment faced from the media and police, her statement said.

    She asked him if he had been tortured and Mansukh denied, but said he was constantly getting calls.

    On March 3 he told her that Vaze had asked him to get arrested in the case and assured that he (Vaze) will get him out on bail within 2-3 days, the statement claimed.

    She advised him against doing any such thing and he seemed tensed, she told the ATS.

    On March 4, her husband called his brother Vinod Hiran and said he needed a lawyer to apply for anticipatory bail as he feared arrest, Vimla said in the statement.

    He returned home early the same day, and said he had to go out again as a police officer named Tawde wanted to meet him, she said.

    He was going to Ghodbunder Road to consult the police who were their well-wishers, he assured her.

    Mansukh left in an auto rickshaw and after 11 pm his phone became unreachable, so she called Vinod Hiran.

    Vinod called Vaze who advised him to wait till morning, she said.

    Next day Vinod filed a missing person complaint and around 3.30 pm her son informed her that Mansukh’s body has been found in the creek, she told the ATS.

    Her husband was a good swimmer so he could not have drowned in the creek, she stated.

    She suspected that her husband might have been killed by Sachin Vaze, Vimla Hiran said in the statement, demanding a thorough probe.

    Speaking to reporters in Mumbai on Tuesday, API Vaze said he would go through her allegations and only then respond.

    (With PTI Inputs)

  • Mumbai Police submit report in court on probe against Kangana on ‘hateful’ social media posts

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: Mumbai Police on Thursday submitted before a magistrate court a report of their inquiry into a complaint against actor Kangana Ranaut and her sister for posting alleged hateful messages on social media.

    In October last year, the magistrate court in Mumbai asked suburban Amboli police to conduct an inquiry into a private complaint, filed by lawyer AliKashif Khan Deshmukh, related to the alleged objectionable messages and file a report by December 5.

    The police failed to submit their report within the time-frame given by the court.

    The court later extended the deadline which, too, was missed.

    During a hearing on February 5, the court asked the police to submit a progress report on the inquiry it had ordered into the complaint against Ranaut and her sister and posted the matter for further hearing on March 4.

    The police on Thursday filed a report of their probe into the matter. The court heard the arguments and kept the matter for orders on April 5.

    According to the complaint, Ranaut’s sister Rangoli Chandel had posted an objectionable message on Twitter in April last year, targeting a particular community, following which her account was suspended.

    Ranaut then posted a video in support of her sister and in the clip allegedly referred to members of a particular community as “terrorists”, the complainant said, seeking a police investigation and action against the two.