Param Bir Singh has been dismissed as Mumbai Police Chief and transferred (archive)
New Delhi / Mumbai:
Param Bir Singh has been replaced by Hemant Nagrale as Mumbai police chief, the Maharashtra government announced today amid sensational revelations about a police officer arrested for his role in a case related to the Mukesh Ambani security threat last month. last. Param Bir Singh, transferred to Home Guards, left his office shortly after the announcement of the state Interior Minister, Anil Deshmukh.
The massive change comes alongside a growing investigation into the role of Mumbai police officer Sachin Waze, who was arrested last week by the National Investigative Agency (NIA) in connection with an SUV full of explosives found abandoned near Mukesh Ambani’s multistory house, Antilia, in Mumbai.
The investigation has turned into a major embarrassment to the Maharashtra government, with the opposition BJP accusing Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray of protecting Sachin Waze, a controversial police officer who was once a member of its Shiv Sena.
The case involves a Scorpio SUV carrying jelly sticks that was found abandoned on Mumbai Carmichael Road, near Mukesh Ambani’s Antilia, on February 25. He carried a threatening letter for Mukesh and Nita Ambani. Sachin Waze was the first investigating officer in the case, but he is now suspected of planning the incident.
The abandoned van was traced to Mansukh Hiran, a Thane-based auto parts dealer, who had reported it stolen on February 17. Waze’s role came under scrutiny after Hiran was found dead in a stream near Mumbai on March 5. Sachin Waze had borrowed the same vehicle for four months and returned it on February 5. She also accused the policeman of having a role in her husband’s death, after which the NIA took over the case and was previously investigated by the Maharashtra Anti-Terror Squad.
The NIA is investigating whether Waze planned the security scare to obtain credit.
Today, the ANI news agency quoted the main investigative agency as saying that a person seen in security footage lurking near Antilia the night the truck was abandoned was Waze.
“In the CCTV footage, Sachin Waze could be seen with his head covered with a large scarf so that no one could identify him. He was wearing oversized kurta pajamas, and not PPE jumpsuit, in an attempt to mask his body language and expensive, “the NIA said, adding that Waze had scrapped a cell phone and erased data from his laptop.
The agency also said that Waze allegedly seized CCTV footage from its own apartment complex and removed them.
Sources say Prime Minister Thackeray had met with two senior Mumbai police officers, Milind Bharambe and Vishwas Nangre Patil, to discuss the details of the investigation.
The case also sparked tension between ruling allies Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
After a meeting at the home of the Chief Minister yesterday, his NCP deputy Ajit Pawar said the government was united and responded cautiously to speculation about Param Bir Singh’s move. “Until there is proof of someone’s guilt, they will keep working,” Pawar had said.
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