The Central Bureau of Investigation has questioned Mumbai police commissioner Sanjay Pandey in connection with its corruption probe against former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh. Sources said Pande was quizzed for over six hours on Saturday over allegations that he had tried to influence the complainant in the case.
Former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh, whose corruption claims against Deshmukh had led to the CBI inquiry, alleged in an affidavit to the Supreme Court in November last year that Pandey had asked him on April 16, 2021 to withdraw his complaint against Deshmukh.
“It is a serious allegation. The Mumbai police commissioner has been questioned in this context. If needed, he may be questioned again,” a CBI official said.
The CBI registered an FIR against Deshmukh in April last year on the Bombay High Court’s directions on the basis of a petition where Singh submitted that Deshmukh had demanded Rs 100 crore be collected as bribes from Mumbai’s bars.
Singh was removed from the post of police commissioner earlier after the Antilia bomb scare in which his subordinate Sachin Waze, an assistant police inspector, was arrested. Singh wrote to the state government that Deshmukh had asked Waze, suspended since, to collect Rs 100 crore from Mumbai’s bars.
During its preliminary inquiry, the CBI questioned Deshmukh and his personal staff including his personal assistant Kundan Shinde and personal secretary Sanjeev Palande.
Waze, arrested by the National Investigation Agency in connection with an explosives-laden SUV found near industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s house, reportedly claimed in his statement that Shinde was present during one such conversation where Deshmukh had raised the bribe demand.
The CBI had also recorded statements of Singh, Waze, DCP Raju Bhujbal, ACP Sanjay Patil, advocate Jayshree Patil, a petitioner, and a hotel owner, Mahesh Shetty, in the case then.
Deshmukh, who has rejected the allegations, resigned from the cabinet on April 5, 2021 after the high court order. The court had asked the CBI to complete its preliminary inquiry within 15 days.
Later in September last year, the CBI also arrested its own sub-inspector, Abhishek Tiwari, and Deshmukh’s lawyer, Anand Daga, after its preliminary inquiry report in the case was leaked on social media. The report, prepared by DySP RS Gunjiyal, had said no cognizable offence was made out against Deshmukh.
The CBI’s FIR against Tiwari and Daga claimed that the sub-inspector had leaked the document in return for “illegal gratification”—an iPhone — from the lawyer.