Highlights:
- The party leaders in coalition are meeting in New Delhi this afternoon.
- Both Sena and NCP have agreed to investigate the accusations.
- Sharad Pawar, the leader of the Nationalist Congress Party, has ruled out Anil Deshmukh’s resignation.
Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar said today that Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh was ill and in hospital at the time he allegedly met police officer Sachin Vaze and discussed an extortion racket, ruling out the possibility of his resignation.
Mr Pawar spoke to the media amid a political uproar over former Mumbai police chief Param Bir Singh’s accusations of corruption against the home minister. NCP leader Sharad Pawar clarified, “During that time, Anil Deshmukh was in the hospital. So, the matter of resignation does not arise in such a situation.”
The Shiv Sena today questioned whether Mr Deshmukh’s resignation is required if the key parties are willing to investigate the matter, reversing its former stance that the minister should resign. Mr Pawar stated that the Sena exerted no pressure on Mr Deshmukh, a member of the NCP, to resign.
Here are the top ten updates on the Maharashtra situation:
1. Anil Deshmukh was in hospital from February 5 to 15, and then in home isolation in Nagpur from February 15 to 27, according to Sharad Pawar, who has demanded an investigation into Param Bir Singh’s charges. Sharad Pawar added, “All of these records will be shared with Maharashtra’s Chief Minister. The topic of resignation does not come up at this time.”
2. Mr Pawar suggested that former police officer Julio Ribeiro to investigate the accusations against the Home Minister yesterday, but Ribeiro declined.
3. At 4.30 p.m. today, Mr Thackeray has called a meeting of state law and justice ministry officials. This becomes more prominent as a result of his decision to keep a closer eye on Home Ministry. In a letter to the Chief Minister, former Mumbai police chief Param Bir Singh claimed that Mr Deshmukh interfered with the Ambani bomb scare investigation and ran an extortion racket with suspended police officer Sachin Vaze, a Shiv Sena member. Mr Singh claimed that he had asked the police to collect Rs 100 crore every month and that he had given officials instructions on how to handle cases without consulting him or other officers.
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4. Mr Singh was sacked as police chief last week after the Ambani bomb scare case was allegedly mismanaged. His resignation as Mumbai Police Commissioner prompted him to write to the Chief Minister. Mr Deshmukh has threatened to sue him for defamation as a result of his statements.
5. Mr Vaze, who has a controversial background, was the original investigating officer in the Ambani case, but was later discovered by the NIA to be a participant in the conspiracy. During an earlier period of suspension in the 2000s, he joined the Shiv Sena.
6. According to the NIA, Mr Vaze was closely linked to Thane businessman Mansukh Hiran, who was the owner of the SUV discovered on Mumbai’s Carmichael Road. The car had been reported stolen by the auto parts dealer a week before it was discovered near Mr Ambani’s home Antilia.
7. On March 5, Mr Hiran was found dead in a Thane creek under mysterious circumstances. In this case, the Maharashtra ATS arrested a former policeman who is now on furlough as well as a bookie. Mr Vaze’s involvement in the death had been claimed by the businessman’s wife.
8. Mr Hiran’s wife, claimed that the suspended cop had driven the same SUV for four months before returning it on February 5.
9. “Is he Osama bin Laden?” asked Uddhav Thackeray, Chief Minister of Maharashtra earlier this month while referring to Mr Vaze. According to reports, the NCP chief questioned the Sena’s involvement with someone as murky as Mr Vaze. The charges against Mr Deshmukh were also described as “serious” by a party leader. Mr Pawar, on the other hand, brought up the issue of the accusations’ timing.
10. The Shiv Sena had previously questioned the need for the NIA to investigate the Ambani bomb scare case, which it claimed could have been handled by the Maharashtra ATS. The NIA has also taken over the investigation into Mr Hiran’s death.
