Param Bir Singh-Sachin Vaze 'meet', Congress cries foul, seeks probe

Mumbai, Nov 29 (IANS) The Maharashtra Congress red-flagged a purported meeting between former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh and his former junior, sacked cop Sachin Vaze, on Monday, terming it as "a conspiracy" and demanding a high-level probe.

According to the party, the duo - accused in multiple cases by several state and central agencies - had a meeting this afternoon, shortly before they appeared before the Justice K.U. Chandiwal Commission of Enquiry, set up by the Maharashtra government.

In a statement, state Congress spokesperson Atul Londhe said the Singh-Vaze meeting flouts rules which clearly state that any two accused persons going for any probe cannot be allowed to "meet" in such a manner.

"Why have they met? Who allowed this meeting and what was the purpose for it? What did they discuss as they are both accused in several cases by various agencies," he asked.

Both Singh and Vaze are individually under investigations by various agencies like the NIA, the CBI, the ED and Mumbai Police, in different cases pertaining to extortion, corruption, conspiracy, murder, terror, etc.

Singh had been declared a 'Proclaimed Offender' by a Mumbai court, had bailable and non-bailable warrants of arrest (since withdrawn) from Mumbai and Thane courts, while Vaze and other accused are facing murder, terror and conspiracy charges related to the SUV planting outside the home of industrialist Mukesh Ambani, and the subsequent murder of its owner Mansukh Hiran, in February-March this year.

Urging state Home Minister Dilip Walse-Patil to order a thorough probe into the "meeting", Londhe sought to know if any high-level politicians or officials had conspired to arrange the meeting with a view to derail the ongoing sensitive probes by the agencies concerned.

Incidentally, Singh had been "untraceable" since the past 6 months but resurfaced in Mumbai last Thursday, after which he has joined the probe in various police cases against him and also attended the Justice Chandiwal hearing on Monday, even as he was granted interim protection against arrest till December 6.