Amid severe allegations from senior police officers against the state government, the Maharashtra government has issued transfer orders of 86 personnel in Mumbai Police, including 65 officers from the Mumbai Crime Branch in one go. It is being said that all the transferred officers were stuck in the crime branch for years. As per a report in Republic World, the list also features the transfer of Sachin Vaze’s close aide, API Riyaz Kazi to the Arms Wing of Mumbai Police.
Mumbai API Riyaz Kazi had been interrogated last week by the NIA in connection with the Mansukh Hiren death case. A Midday reported suggested that, as per their sources in the Mumbai police, “these officers were suspected of being close confidants of Waze and had been bypassing senior officers to remain in touch with him.” The transfer order was approved and signed by the joint commissioner of Mumbai Police on Tuesday.
Reports have mentioned that new police chief Hemant Nagrale had hinted at a major reshuffle after assuming office. The transfers have been executed under Maharashtra Police Act Section 22 (N) (2) which allows transfers in exceptional cases for the public interest.
The major reshuffle is said to be a face-saving measure by the Maharashtra government. This decision came shortly after Maharashtra’s opposition leader, Devendra Fadnavis did a massive expose of transfer racket through a press conference on Tuesday afternoon in Mumbai. Fadnavis revealed that he has 6.3GB of data and phone recordings of the alleged transfer posting racket of IPS and non-IPS officers of Maharashtra Police. He also released communications between the then SID Chief, DGP & ACS (Home) to prove the severity of allegations in the transfer posting racket of the MVA Government.
Former Maharashtra CM & LoP @Dev_Fadnavis at a press conference in Mumbai releases communications between the then SID Chief, DGP & ACS (Home) showing the severity of allegations in transfers/posting racket of MVA Government! pic.twitter.com/TCqJG8tIZ1
— @OfficeOfDevendra (@Devendra_Office) March 23, 2021
The letter was written by Rashmi Shukla, the ex-Commissioner, State Intelligence Department dated August 25, 2020, to the then Maharashtra DGP Subodh Jaiswal which was then forwarded the very next day to ACS Home and Chief Minister. However, Devendra Fadnavis alleged that the government simply sat over these reports and no action was taken. Instead the then SID Chief and DGP were transferred to ‘non-existent’ departments. Fadnavis has now submitted all evidence to the Union Home Secretary, demanding a CBI inquiry.
Amit the controversies over Sachin Vaze’s arrest and involvement with a murder, former Mumbai Police chief Parambir Singh had alleged that the Home Minister had asked Vaze to collect the extortion money of Rs 100 crores per month from bars and restaurants in Mumbai.
Anil Deshmukh meets Uddhav Thackeray:
Amidst the various corruption allegations, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh met Uddhav Thackeray at his residence in Mumbai on Tuesday. Anil Deshmukh was named by Param Bir Singh in his explosive 8-page letter where he claimed that it was Anil Deshmukh who instructed Sachin Vaze to collect a 100-crore in bribes every month. While Anil Deshmukh rubbished the claims, Param Bir Singh’s plea is to be heard by the Supreme Court today.
It is notable here that a luxury car belonging to Vaze was recovered from the Mumbai Commissioner’s office compound with Rs 5 lakhs in cash and a cash counting machine, fuelling suspicions about his extortion racket.
Meanwhile, Uddhav Thackeray’s wife Rashmi Thackeray has been tested positive for Covid-19 and is in home isolation at her residence, along with minister Aaditya Thackeray.
Recovery details in Sachin Vaze’s diary:
In yet another shocking development, a diary seized by NIA from Sachin Vaze’s office has revealed the recovery entries listed in code words. As per a Lokmat report, it is believed that the 200-page diary has an entry of Rs 11-crore recovered from Hookah parlours in a week in Mumbai. It is also learned that ‘L’ is used to enter recovery in lakhs, while ‘K’ has been used to enter recovery in thousands. The diary consists of all the names of pubs, eateries, clubs, and hookah parlours from where the recoveries were done. The entries are said to be recent and frequent.
100-day luxurious hotel stays for Sachin Vaze:
With Sachin Vaze still in denial about owning the diary recovered from his office, he has been trapped in a new allegation. As per a Times Now report, the NIA has nabbed a jeweller from South Mumbai who had allegedly booked a luxurious suite in Trident for Sachin Vaze for a period of 100 days.
#Breaking | Antilia Probe: NIA reportedly has a major lead in South Mumbai.
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) March 24, 2021
Details by Siddhant. pic.twitter.com/DAwWnZd05X
It is alleged that the jeweler made a payment of Rs 25 lakhs for this booking. The jeweler whose name cannot be revealed at the moment due to on-going investigations is said to have past criminal records.
The allegations by Parambir Singh, Sachin Vaze’s suspicious reinstatement done by the Maha government last year and the transfer racket allegations has put the the leaders of MVA under severe scrutiny.
The Looks like the Maharashtra maha-mystery is far from being solved.
