Sachin Waze claims Anil Deshmukh asked him to extort money from bars

Arrested Mumbai Police crime branch officer Sachin Waze has opened up a Pandoras Box for the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra accusing former Home Minister Anil Deshmukh Transport Minister Anil Parab and others of pressuring him to extort money from the contractors of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC and illegal tobacco factories and bars in the cityIn a handwritten letter dated April 3 a copy of which has been viewed by IANS Waze has claimed that NCP chief Sharad Pawar was against his reinstatement into Mumbai Police in 2020 and wanted it to be revoked However senior officials of the NIA remained tightlipped on the authenticity of Wazes letterIn the letter Waze said that Deshmukh had told him that if he paid Rs 2 crore to him he would convince Pawar to allow him back into the forceI had expressed my inability to pay such an amount On this the home minister asked me to pay it in a later course Waze wroteWaze further claimed that Deshmukh had called him to the Sahyadri Guest House in October 2020 and asked him to collect Rs 335 lakh each from 1650 bars and restaurants in MumbaiI refused by saying that it was not within the scope of my capability Waze claimed in his letter adding that as far he knew there were only 200 bars in Mumbai and not 1650 as anticipated by DeshmukhWaze also alleged that soon after he came out of the meeting with Deshmukh his PA Kundan had advised him that he must comply with the instructions of the minister if he wished to keep his job and post intactWaze also said that Deshmukh made the same demand again in January 2021 when the two met at the former ministers official bungalowWaze in his letter also claimed that Maharashtra Transport Minister and Shiv Sena leader Anil Parab had asked him to extort money for himIn JulyAugust 2020 I was called by Minister Anil Parab at his official bungalow At the meeting Parab asked me to look into the complaint under preliminary inquiry and bring the trustees of the SBUT to him for negotiations about the inquiry He also insisted to initiate primary talks to get Rs 50 crore from SBUT in order to close the said enquiry I had expressed my inability to do any such thing as I do not know anybody from SBUT and also I did not have any control over the inquiry Waze told NIA in his letterWaze further claimed that Parab called him again in January 2021 and asked him to look into an inquiry against some contractors listed in the BMC and collect Rs 2 crore each from themHe told me to collect at least Rs 2 crore each from 50 such contractors An inquiry was on in this matter based on an anonymous complaint The Crime Intelligence Unit inquiry against the contractors had not yielded any result Waze claimed in his letterWaze who was arrested on March 13 in connection with the explosiveladen SUV found outside Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambanis residence on February 25 said that he had informed the then Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh about the extortion demands made by Deshmukh and ParabI met the Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh and expressed my apprehension about this I told him that I would be embroiled in a false controversy in the near future The Commissioner encouraged me and categorically instructed me not to involve myself in any such illegal collection of money from anyone and for anyone Waze wroteWaze is currently being investigated by the NIA in connection with the mysterious death of Mumbaibased businessman Mansukh Hiren whose body was found from a Thane creek on March 5A Mumbai Court on Wednesday extended the remand of Waze till April 9After the cases related to the explosiveladen SUV and the death of Hiran exploded in Maharashtra Singh was shunted out from the top cops post and made the Commandant General of Home GuardsAfter being shunted out as Mumbai Police Commissioner Singh dropped a letter bomb on March 20 accusing Deshmukh of asking Waze and other Mumbai police personnel to extort Rs 100 crore monthly from bars hotels and restaurants in the cityEarlier in the day Singh had appeared before the NIA in connection with the caseThe Bombay High Court on Monday ordered a CBI preliminary enquiry against Deshmukh The court also asked the CBI to complete the probe within 15 days following which the CBI registered a PE on Tuesday night Two teams of the agency have already arrived here from DelhiThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever