Sachin Waze drops `letter bomb`, accuses another Maharashtra minister in extortion racket row

Waze wrote a letter to the NIA court and said that Maharashtra former Home Minister Anil Deshmukh had also demanded Rs 2 crore from him.

New Delhi: Suspended Mumbai cop Sachin Waze has now dropped a 'letter bomb' and accused Maharashtra cabinet minister and Shiv Sena minister Anil Parab in an extortion racket row. In a letter written to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Wednesday (April 7, 2021), Waze said that a person named Darshan Ghodawat, introducing himself as a close aide of a senior Maharashtra Minister, had asked him to collect a monthly amount of Rs 100 crore from the illegal gutkha sellers.

Waze, who is currently in NIA custody in the Antilia bomb scare, also stated that he had refused to do so and when he initiated action against the illegal gutkha sellers, Ghodawat came to his office and expressed the Minister`s displeasure on Waze's actions against them.

He also claimed that Maharashtra former Home Minister Anil Deshmukh had also demanded Rs 2 crore from him to continue his service in the Mumbai police.

The NIA court, however, refused to take the letter on record and asked Waze to follow the required procedure.

Anil Parab refuted the allegations and said that they were incorrect and aimed at maligning his image. He also expressed readiness to face any probe.

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut has alleged that this was a 'political conspiracy' to topple the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government. 

Raut said, "There have been efforts from day one to topple the Maharashtra government. The faces of those who are trying to topple the government are coming to light. A new tactic has come to light wherein people who are in jail write letters...People in jail write letters and they are considered as evidence. This is substandard politics."

He added, "This is a political conspiracy, I know Anil Parab, he can never indulge in such work. I can assure you that no Shiv Sainik can take a false oath in Bala Saheb Thackeray`s name."

Earlier, Anil Deshmukh, an NCP leader, tendered his resignation amid corruption allegations. Ex-Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh had alleged that Deshmukh fixed a Rs 100-crore collection target for suspended assistant police inspector Sachin Waze.

This is to be noted that the MVA government in Maharashtra comprised of the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress. 

(With inputs from agencies)