Maharashtra govt appoints panel to probe charges levelled by Param Bir Singh against Anil Deshmukh

The panel comprising a retired Bombay High Court judge is expected to submit its report within six months.

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government on Tuesday (March 30) announced a high-level panel consisting of only one judge to probe the allegations levelled by former Mumbai Commissioner of Police Param Bir Singh against state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh.

The panel comprising retired Bombay High Court judge, Justice Kailash Uttamchand Chandiwal, is expected to submit its report within six months.

The terms of reference comprise investigating if Singh had submitted any evidence in his March 20 allegations against Deshmukh to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.

In his letter, Singh had alleged that Deshmukh had reportedly asked a junior officer, Assistant Police Inspector Sachin Vaze, to collect Rs 100 crore per month from hoteliers, bars, hookah parlours and other sources in Mumbai.

The letter came soon after Vaze was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in the twin cases pertaining to the abandoned SUV Scorpio on February 25, followed by the mysterious death of the car’s owner, Thane-based businessman Mansukh Hiran, on February 5.

Singh penned the letter shortly after his transfer as Commandant-General, Home Guards.

He hit back by moving the Supreme Court demanding a CBI probe into his allegations against Deshmukh, but he was asked to approach the Bombay High Court.