Two days after he was suspended from service, the Crime Branch Unit XI of the Mumbai Police on Saturday filed a charge-sheet against senior IPS officer and Mumbai’s former Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh and three others before a city court, in an extortion case registered against them by a hotelier.
The crime branch sleuths filed a comprehensive charge-sheet against Singh, incarcerated dismissed police inspector Sachin Vaze and two others Sumit Singh and Alpesh Patel, before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate S. B. Bhajipale, in an extortion case filed by hotelier Bimal Agarwal.
Saturday’s was the first charge-sheet filed in the five FIRs registered against him in Mumbai and Thane. The development came 48 hours prior to the expiry of interim protection from arrest granted to him by the Supreme Court.
Singh and three other accused have been booked under sections 384, 386, 388, 389 (all sections relating to extortion), 120-b (criminal conspiracy), 201 (destruction of evidence) and 34 (common intent) of Indian Penal Code.
In his complaint, Agarwal had alleged that Singh and Vaze -- who is currently behind the bars for alleged involvement in the cases involving the recovery of an explosive-laden SUV near industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s south Mumbai residence and subsequent murder of businessman Mansukh Hiran—and two other accused had extorted cash and valuables worth Rs 9 lakh from him as a pay-off for not conducting raids on two of his bars at Goregaon in north Mumbai which he ran in partnership with another person.
Singh and Vaze had allegedly also forced him to purchase two smart phones worth around Rs 2.92 lakh for them.
Apart from Singh and Vaze, Alpesh Patel and Sumit Singh are currently on bail.
Riyaz Bhatti and Vinay Singh alias Babloo have been named as absconding accused in the case. Of the accused, Alpesh Patel was arrested from Mehsana railway station in Gujarat. Patel had reportedly destroyed the mobile phone and SIM card used in the offence. One of the two mobile phones given to Sachin Waze by the complainant as part of the extortion has been seized by the investigators.
Based on Agrawal’s complaint, the police had registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Singh, Vaze and two others for offences under Sections 384, 385 388, 389 (extortion), 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 34 of the Indian Penal Code.
It was connection with this case that the same court had on November 17 declared Singh—who had been absconding for more than six months – as “proclaimed offender and ordered him to appear before the court or the Investigating Officer within 30 days. On November 25, Singh returned to the city and appeared before the Crime Branch Unit 11 office of the Mumbai police.
In his complaint, Agarwal had also alleged that extortion calls were made to him between January 2020 and March 2021.
The filing of the charge-sheet comes as a major embarrassment for Singh, who was once the Police Commissioner. The city crime branch sleuths were waiting for his suspension before they filed a charge-sheet against Singh.
On December 2, the Maharashtra government suspended Singh from service in view of serious offences registered against him and the disciplinary proceedings launched into “certain irregularities and lapses” committed him, including his unauthorised absence from duty.
“The Government of Maharashtra is satisfied that it is necessary and desirable to place Parambir Singh under suspension… in accordance with the Rule 3(1) and Rule 3(3) of the All India Service (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1969,” Venkatesh Bhat, Joint Secretary, state Home Department, had stated in a three-page order on Thursday evening.
Singh -- who had created a sensation on March 20 this year by alleging that State Home Minister Anil Deshmukh had asked now arrested and dismissed police officer Sachin Vaze to "collect" a staggering Rs 100 crore per month from bars, restaurants and other sources in Mumbai – has been booked for several serious offences registered against him in four different police stations in Mumbai and neighbouring Thane district.