Mumbai’s Esplanade court on Wednesday allowed Mumbai Police’s application to declare former police commissioner Param Bir Singh as a proclaimed offender in an extortion case. Following the court order, the police can now designate Singh as a wanted person and initiate a process to declare him an absconder.
The court passed a proclamation to declare former Mumbai CP Param Bir Singh an ‘absconder’ if he does not respond to the summons in 30 days. As per rules, if he is declared an ‘absconder’, Singh’s properties may be seized and subsequently auctioned and he would not be able to avail of legal remedies.
Singh and two other accused, Vinay Singh and Riyaz Bhati, were among those against whom an application was filed in connection with a case registered on a complaint lodged by hotelier Bimal Agarwal. Agrawal had alleged that Singh and suspended cop Waze had extorted cash and valuables worth ₹11 lakh from him.
Following the court order, the Mumbai police will go to the last known addresses of all the three accused to paste notices stating that they are wanted and required to be present before the court.
An FIR was filed based on the complaint under Sections 384, 385 388, 389 (extortion), 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 34 of the Indian Penal Code.
The development came in the wake of the non-bailable warrants that were issued recently against the three accused by a Mumbai court.
The current application says that despite having issued multiple non-bailable warrants, the three accused continued to remain on the run, and their existence concealed. In view of these facts, the police prayed that the three accused be declared “absconding” as per Section 82 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Param Bir Singh goes missing, Maharashtra govt initiates procedure to declare him ‘absconder’
Param Bir was removed from his Mumbai Police Commissioner post in March this year, and was appointed as Director General (DG) of Maharashtra Home Guard. Soon after the transfer, he had written a letter to chief minister Uddhav Thackeray where he made serious corruption charges against state home minister Anil Deshmukh. Subsequently, several cases were lodged against him by several businessmen, accusing him of extorting money from them. After that, he had gone on a leave, and then went ‘missing’, with police unable to locate him.
Param Bir Singh missed appearing before the Justice Chandiwal commission constituted to investigate his allegations. During the hearing last month, the Maharashtra government further told the Bombay High Court that since the former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh facing police probe is missing, the Maharashtra police is under no obligation to extend ‘no coercive action’ assurance to him.
The submission of the Maharashtra government that Singh was untraceable came when Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil informed that he may have left the country.
Param Bir Singh is known to be on leave from his post and had sought several extensions of his leave to the state govt. His last communication to the state government was in the second week of August, where he had sought an extension of leave till August 29. After that, there has been no communication from him.
The former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh is wanted in several ongoing cases under investigation including the Antilia Bomb scare, Mansukh Hiren murder case, and the Mumbai police extortion case.
