Maharashtra Cabinet Minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Nawab Malik on Tuesday reacted to the arrest of Anil Deshmukh and said that the former Home Minister had been framed as he questioned the whereabouts of former Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh who had accused latter in a money laundering case.
"He asked 'where is Param Bir Singh' and that answer about his whereabouts should be given by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Now Shiv Sena leader Anil Parab can be the next target," he said.
"Anil Deshmukh had been framed. Maharashtra government will not be pressurised by these allegations. They are trying to scare the ministers, information is coming, that Anil Parab is the next target. The person who mas made the allegations i.e. Param Bir Singh is absconding and the person who appeared is arrested," Malik told ANI.
"Where is Param Bir Singh? The answer should be given by the central government. Despite a lookout notice, a person can only abscond through three ways either by air or the person can go to Uttarakhand or Uttar Pradesh by road. Both the places have a BJP government," he added.
"Did the BJP government drove Singh away, the question must be answered by the party," he alleged.
Meanwhile, BJP leader and MLA Ashish Shelar accused the Maha Vikas Aghadi government for the disappearance of former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh.
"How did Parambir Singh escape from the state? Nawab Malik should answer this first, The Maharashtra government is responsible for Parambir Singh's escape," Shelar challenged Minister Malik.
"If he has fled, the state government is also trying to get him asylum in the country he is going to. Parambir Singh has a lot of information against this government. If it is found, this government will be exposed, that is why the government is helping him to escape, this is an intrigue," claimed Shelar.
Earlier on Tuesday, Deshmukh was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the early hours of Tuesday in connection with the alleged Rs 100-crore extortion and money laundering case.
Former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh had accused Anil Deshmukh of asking dismissed assistant inspector Sachin Vaze to collect Rs 100 crore from hotels and bars in Mumbai every month.
The federal probe agency will record the statement of Deshmukh under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with the criminal investigation being carried out by it in the alleged Rs 100 crore bribery-cum-extortion racket in the Maharashtra Police establishment.It registered a case against Deshmukh and others based on a corruption case filed against him by the CBI.
