A week after the CID failed to serve a bailable warrant against Param Bir Singh as they could not find him at his address, state home minister Dilip Walse Patil said the state government had launched a massive search to trace the former Mumbai police commissioner for his alleged involvement in serious crimes.
When asked if Singh had gone to London or Russia, as alleged in certain quarters, Patil said he had no such information. A week ago, the Chandiwal commission probing into Singh’s letter to the CM which made allegations against former state home minister Anil Deshmukh had issued a bailable warrant to secure his presence before the commission, but the state CID failed to trace him.
Patil said, “We have launched a search to trace Param Bir Singh. We are also taking the assistance of the Central government for the purpose. Our officers are coordinating with the Centre. We do not know his whereabouts, if he has fled India. We do not have concrete information. As per rules, it is mandatory for any employee or even the CM to secure permission of the government before leaving the country. In case of Singh, it has been found that he never applied for permission to travel abroad. In fact, the CID has issued a lookout notice against him.” Further, Patil said that as per rules, whenever an employee proceeds on medical leave, as Singh had, he has to inform the government of his whereabouts during the leave period. However, Singh did not inform the government about his place of residence. “We will take action as per provisions of law,” he said.
Meanwhile, state Congress president Nana Patole obliquely blamed the NCP-controlled home department for its failure to arrest Singh “for his alleged involvement in planting explosives outside the residence of industrialist Mukesh Ambani.” Patole said when it emerged that dismissed assistant police inspector Sachin Waze had been directly involved in planting the explosives, the Mumbai police should have arrested Singh and the state home department should have suspended him immediately.
“In police circles, the link between Singh and Waze was well known, and the Mumbai police and home department should have acted swiftly. Subsequently, both the police and home department were helpless as the entire probe into the episode was taken over by the National Investigation Agency,” Patole said.
