A co-accused of former city police commissioner Param Bir Singh in an extortion case - Vinay Singh - on Thursday secured bail from a sessions court.
The case arose out of a complaint filed by a hotelier - civic contractor Bimal Agarwal in Goregaon police station in which he alleged that he was extorted by dismissed policeman Sachin Vaze in connivance with the police chief and four others including Vinay Singh. He said he shelled out around Rs. 11.92 lakhs over some months for being able to run his resto-bars in the city’s western suburbs smoothly, without any police hassle. The case was later taken over by the crime branch.
Additional Sessions Judge Deepak L. Bhagwat ordered Vinay Singh's release on temporary cash bail of Rs. 30,000. In a month, he will have to arrange sureties. The court has also directed that till the filing of the chargesheet against him, he regularly attend the police station on a weekly basis.
The allegation against Vinay Singh was that he had made collections from the businessman on behalf of Vaze, who was working on the commissioner’s instructions. Vinay Singh had sought bail on the grounds that the main accused - Param Bir Singh - was granted protection from the Supreme Court. His advocate Aniket Nikam had also told the court that the complainant himself had criminal antecedents - with an FIR against him in Thane for extortion. He also argued that Agarwal had himself suggested some names to Vaze, who could work as collection agents for the policeman. Hence, he said that Agarwal and Vaze were working in tandem.
Earlier, Singh had been absconding and the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate had issued a proclamation against him to declare him an ‘absconding accused’, upon the crime branch’s plea for the same. The proclamation was later set aside by the Bombay High Court on technical grounds. Singh was arrested mid-last month.
