All eyes on the New Delhi meet today as the Maharashtra government alliance battles a rift.
New Delhi/Mumbai:
The Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress combine is now battling the fallout of the discovery of an SUV on February 25 near industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s residence with an alleged letter threatening his family. A controversial cop, a cop-turned-convict, a businessman (later found dead), and a bookie have got embroiled in incidents related to the car. By now the Maharashtra Home Minister himself is in the dock for allegedly interfering with the case even as the Mumbai police finds itself at the centre of all the mudslinging. A crucial political meeting is scheduled for today in New Delhi, in which the NCP leadership could potentially decide the future of the 16-month-old state government, formed at the end of much drama in 2019.
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NCP chief Sharad Pawar has summoned the top leadership of the state, including Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and state party chief Jayant Patil, also a minister in the state government, to New Delhi today to take a call on the future of Anil Deshmukh, now in the dock. The NCP has till now maintained that the Maharashtra Home Minister will not resign.
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Today’s meeting comes amid a possible rift between the ruling partners, with the Shiv Sena, especially, strongly indicating that Mr Deshmukh is now a liability to the Uddhav Thackeray government.
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Mr Deshmukh finds himself in trouble because former Mumbai police chief Param Bir Singh has reportedly alleged, in a letter to the Chief Minister, that the state Home Minister had interfered with the probe into the Ambani bomb scare episode and also led an extortion racket that had suspended policeman Sachin Vaze – a Shiv Sena member – as a lynchpin.
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Mr Singh was replaced as police chief last week owing to the alleged mismanagement of the crucial Ambani bomb scare case under his leadership. His letter to the Chief Minister followed his removal as Mumbai Police Commissioner. Mr Deshmukh has now threatened to sue him for defamation.
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Sachin Vaze, with a controversial history, was the initial probing officer in the Ambani bomb scare case, but later was found to a part of the conspiracy itself, according to an ongoing probe by the National Investigation Agency and the Maharashtra ATS. He had joined the Shiv Sena during an earlier period of suspension in the 2000s.
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According to the NIA probe, Mr Vaze was closely associated with the Thane businessman Mansukh Hiran, to whom the SUV found on Mumbai’s Carmichael Road was traced back. The auto parts dealer had reported the vehicle as stolen a week before it was found near Antilia, Mr Ambani’s residence.
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Mr Hiran was then found dead under mysterious circumstances in a Thane creek on March 5. The Maharashtra ATS has arrested a former cop, now on furlough, and a bookie in the case of the death. The businessman’s wife had alleged Mr Vaze’s involvement in her husband’s death.
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Notably, Mr Hiran’s wife had also alleged that the suspended cop had used the same SUV for around four months till he returned it to Mr Hiran on February 5.
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Referring to Mr Vaze, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had earlier this month asked, “Is he Osama bin Laden?” The NCP chief had reportedly questioned the Sena’s involvement with a person as dodgy as Mr Vaze. He had also termed the allegations against Mr Deshmukh “serious”. However, he also raised the issue of the timing of the allegations.
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The Shiv Sena has meanwhile questioned the need for the NIA to get involved in the Ambani bomb scare case, which, according to it, the Maharashtra ATS could have handled. The NIA has now taken over the case of Mr Hiran’s death, too, under the instructions of the Ministry of Home Affairs.