Mumbai Police File Chargesheet Against Param Bir Singh In Hotelier's Extortion Case

The Crime Branch Unit XI of the Mumbai Police filed charge sheet against the city's former Commissioner Param Bir Singh and three others in connection with extortion calls made to a city builder-cum-hotelier. The police filed the charge sheet before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate SB Bhajipale against Singh, dismissed cop Sachin Waze, Sumit Singh and Alpesh Patel. Two others have been cited as wanted accused. The accused were booked under Sections 384, 385, 388, 389, 201, 120B and 34 of the Indian Penal Code. On Thursday, the Maharashtra Government's Home Department suspended Singh from the state's police force. On the same day, the Esplanade court withdrew its order of proclamation declaring Param Bir Singh an 'absconder' in the present case as he co-operated with investigators. According to the complaint filed by Bimal Agarwal, extortion calls were made to him between January 2020 and March 2021. He alleged that nearly Rs 9 lakh was extorted/demanded from him for not conducting a raid on two bars and restaurants, which he ran in partnership with someone else. Moreover, he was forced to buy two smartphones worth around Rs 2.92 lakh for them. It is in this case that a witness claimed that Waze would address Singh as 'No.1' and not the former Home Minister Anil Deshmukh. The alleged extortion money from bars was handed over by Waze to 'No.1.' In one of Waze's remand applications the Crime Branch mentioned that he along with Param Bir Singh extorted money from cricket bookies by threatening them with arrests. Moreover, co-accused Alpesh Patel arrested from Mehsana railway station, at Gujarat had destroyed the mobile phone and SIM card used during the offence. One of the two mobile phones given to Sachin Waze by the complainant as part of the extortion were seized.

Mumbai Police File Chargesheet Against Param Bir Singh In Hotelier's Extortion Case

Sharmeen Hakim

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