Waze maze: Suspended cop drops 'letter bomb'; CBI to quiz
Mumbai: The CBI on Wednesday received a court nod to question Sachin Waze over corruption allegations against former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh as the suspended police officer dropped a "letter bomb" with damaging claims against him and Shiv Sena minister Anil Parab.
In a related development, a report submitted by the Mumbai Police to the Home department said Waze was reinstated in the Crime Intelligence Unit in June last year on the insistence of the then police commissioner Param Bir Singh despite strong objection raised by the then Joint CP (crime).
Waze, in news since an SUV laden with explosives was found parked near industrialist Mukesh Ambani's residence here in February-end, has continued to hog the limelight with new revelations related to him and a clutch of important persons coming out almost daily.
Waze on Wednesday claimed Deshmukh had demanded Rs 2 crore from him to continue his service in the Mumbai police and alleged state minister Parab asked him to collectmoney from some contractors in Mumbai.
Parab rubbished Waze's claim. Waze, who was reinstated in the police service last year, made the sensational claim in a letter which he tried to submit before a special NIA court here. However, special judge PR Sitre refused to take his letter on record and asked him to follow the required procedure.
The suspended assistant police inspector, an accused in the explosives case and the subsequent death of businessman Mansukh Hiran, is currently in the NIA custody. Deshmukh, a senior NCP leader, resigned as home minister on Monday after the Bombay High Court ordered a CBI probe into corruption allegations levelled against him by former Mumbai police commissioner Singh.
"I duly was reinstated in service on June 6, 2020. That soon after my reinstatement there were certain agitators (people, who wanted) to reverse the reinstatement.
"Apparently, then it was ordered by (NCP president) Sharad Pawar to again place me under suspension.
"That, at that time the then home minister sir (Deshmukh) also told me that he will convince Pawar saheb and for that purpose he (Hm sir) asked me to pay Rs 2 crore," Waze claimed in the four-page handwritten letter.
Waze (49) said he expressed his inability to pay such a huge sum. "I had expressed my inability to pay such an amount.
On this, the home minister sir asked me to pay in later course," he added.
Waze's letter claimed that in January 2021, minister Parab asked him to lookinto an inquiry against "fraudulent" contractors listed in the BMC and collectat least Rs 2 crore from about 50 such contractors. Parab, a Shiv Sena leader, rejected Waze's claims and said he was ready to face any probe into the allegations.
Talking to reporters, Parab said, "I swear in the name of Shiv Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackeray and my two daughters that I haven't done anything wrong." Meanwhile, a special NIA court allowed the CBI to question Waze in connection with its preliminary enquiry (PE) launched to investigate the allegations of corruption raised by Singh against Deshmukh.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had filed an application before the court seeking permission to question Waze, currently in the custody of the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
