Param Bir letter 'bomb' case: Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh resigns

In a significant political development, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Monday (April 5) resigned from his post and submitted his resignation to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.

NCP leader Nawab Malik said that Deshmukh has met CM Thackeray to tender his resignation but the chief minister is yet to accept his resignation.

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— ANIL DESHMUKH (@AnilDeshmukhNCP) April 5, 2021

Deshmukh decided to resign hours after the Bombay High Court on Monday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to begin a preliminary inquiry within 15 days into corruption allegations on the NCP leader by former Mumbai Police Chief Param Bir Singh.

A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Girish Kulkarni said this was an 'extraordinary' and 'unprecedented' case that warranted an independent inquiry.

The Bombay HC also observed that since Deshmukh is the Home Minister of Maharashtra no impartial probe can be done by the police.

It is to be noted that Param Bir Singh had sought a probe by the CBI into his sudden transfer from the post of Mumbai Police chief, claiming that he was was transferred as Commandant General of Home Guards on March 17 after he wote a letter to CM Thackeray exposing the alleged corrupt activities of Deshmukh. 
In his letter, the former Mumbai police had also claimed that Deshmukh had asked police officers, including suspended cop Sachin Waze, to collect Rs 100 crore from bars and restaurants. 

For his part, eshmukh has refuted the allegations leveled by Singh in his letter and had threatened to sue the former Mumbai Police chief for defamation.