Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Thursday broke his silence and revealed that Param Bir Singh’s transfer was not a routine affair as there were serious errors in his functioning which were unforgivable. Deshmukh strongly defended the state government’s decision to shunt out Singh saying that it was done to avoid any impact on the ongoing probe by ATS and NIA into the bomb scare and Mansukh Hiren death cases. Further, Deshmukh said some mistakes committed by Singh were non pardonable.
"The transfer of Param Bir Singh is not a routine one. Some of the things that came up in the inquiry are unforgivable. So, the Chief Minister and I sat down and decided to transfer him so that there would be no impediment to the inquiry," said Deshmukh. He clarified that the decision on Singh’s transfer was taken only after discussing the matter with the CM. "The matter is being investigated by the NIA and the ATS. The mistakes made by his colleagues in his office as Mumbai Police Chief are unforgivable. Therefore, he was transferred. Maharashtra Police and Mumbai Police are world renowned," said Deshmukh.
"Some police officers have made mistakes. Anyone found guilty in the investigation will be prosecuted. The NIA is investigating the bomb scare. The NIA and the ATS are professional agencies. They will find out the culprits,’’ Deshmukh said.
On leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis’ charge that during his CM’s tenure there was pressure on him for reinstatement of Sachin Waze in 2018, Deshmukh said, ‘’There is a committee at the Police Commissioner level to recruit assistant police inspector rank officers. That committee takes its decision. This committee holds review and later recommends recruitment/reinstatement of API rank officers in the force. Thereafter, Sachin Vaze was reinstated.’’ He claimed charges levelled by Fadnavis are political. ‘’These files do not come to the government. They are referred to the CP level committee. Neither I nor the CM have the authority to reinstate an API-level official like Sachin Waze but it is with the CP level committee,’’ said Deshmukh.
