Anil Deshmukh has denied the charges and said he will sue Param Bir Singh for defamation. (File)
New Delhi:
Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh will have to go as the corruption allegation against him is serious, a top leader of the state’s ruling alliance has told NDTV. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray is also of this view and a meeting is likely to be held this evening between the Shiv Sena leaders and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, the leader told NDTV.
The ruling alliance has landed in controversy after Param Bir Singh — replaced as Mumbai Police Commissioner over “unforgivable” lapses in the Mukesh Ambani security scare probe – accused Mr Deshmukh of corruption and interference in police work.
Mr Deshmukh has denied the charges and said he will sue Mr Singh for defamation. But the state’s opposition BJP has called for his removal.
In a letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Mr Singh said the minister had asked several officers including Sachin Waze who has been arrested in the Mukesh Ambani case – to run an extortion racket. They were set them a target of Rs 100 crore every month and asked to collect the money from restaurants, pubs, bars and hookah parlours. The demand, he said, was made in February.
The former police chief also said that the Home Minister had on several occasions instructed police officers on how to handle cases and file charges, often summoning them to his home to “bypass” him and other seniors.