Anushka Sharma –
Published On: November 26, 2021 at 13:00 IST
Param Bir Singh, the city’s former Police Commissioner, said he is working with the investigation and has complete faith in the Court after appearing before Mumbai Police’s Crime Branch in connection with the extortion charges.
“I have joined the investigation today as per the order of the Supreme Court. I am cooperating in the investigation and I have full faith in the Court,” Mr. Singh said after his appearance before the Crime Branch.
According to his lawyer, the former Police Commissioner has testified before the Crime Branch and will continue to assist with the investigation.
Mr. Singh is Accused of extortion in at least four cases in Maharashtra and has been absent since October, prompting speculation that he had fled the Country. He did, however, arrive at the Crime Branch Unit 11 office of the City Police today morning and was questioned till the evening.
This comes after the Supreme Court granted him protection while also requesting that he cooperate with the probe into his activities.
Mr. Singh might be labelled an ‘Absconder,’ meaning he could be considered as a fugitive from the Law, according to a Mumbai Court ruling on November 17. A notice to that effect was posted outside his residence in Mumbai’s Juhu neighbourhood earlier this week.
Mr. Singh has not returned to work since May, when he was relieved of his duties as Mumbai Police Commissioner and Accused then-Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh of corruption; Mr. Deshmukh has since been Arrested and is now in the custody of the Enforcement Directorate.
After Mumbai Police officer Sachin Waze was Arrested in connection with the Mukesh Ambani bomb scare case (an SUV laden with explosives was discovered near Mr. Ambani’s residence) and the subsequent mysterious Death of businessman Mansukh Hiran, Mr. Singh was transferred.
Despite being only an Assistant Police Inspector, Mr. Waze was believed to be close to Param Bir Singh and had direct access to him. Mr. Singh was transferred in March, following the NIA’s Arrest of Sachin Waze.