Sachin Wajhe told ED - Deshmukh and Parab took Rs 40 crore bribe from 10 DCPs to stop the transfer

Sacked police officer Sachin Wajhe in his statement to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has made sensational allegations against Maharashtra Transport Minister Anil Parab and the then Home Minister Anil Deshmukh. Wajhe has said that these two leaders had taken a bribe of Rs 40 crore from 10 Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCPs) of the city instead of stalling the transfer orders issued by the then Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh.

The statement is part of a charge sheet filed recently by the Enforcement ED against Deshmukh's former private secretary Sanjeev Palande and personal assistant Kundan Shinde in a money laundering case. Param Bir Singh had issued transfer orders of 10 DCPs to Mumbai in July 2020. Wajhe claimed in his statement that the then Home Minister Deshmukh and Parab were not happy with the transfer order issued by Parambir Singh.

Wajhe said, "Later I came to know that an amount of Rs 40 crore was collected from the police officers listed in the transfer order, out of which Anil Deshmukh and Anil Parab and Rs 20 crore each were given." Apart from Palande and Shinde, Wajhe has also been named as an accused in the charge sheet filed in the money laundering case. Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Deshmukh or any of his family members have not been named as accused in the charge sheet. Palande and Shinde are in judicial custody in this case.

Wayne was arrested in March this year in connection with the finding of an explosive SUV near Antilia, the home of industrialist Mukesh Ambani, and the murder of Thane-based businessman Mansukh Hiran. The charge sheet states that Palande and Shinde played a key role in the money laundering case.

The central agency said its probe has revealed that Deshmukh used to approach Wajhe to hand over the money collected from bars and restaurants. For example, Vajhe gave Shinde 16 bags, containing Rs 4.6 crore, between January and February 2021, while Palande was instrumental in passing the orders of the NCP leader to Wajhe. The Central Investigation Bureau (CBI) had registered an FIR against the NCP leader on April 21, following allegations of corruption by Parambir Singh. After this, the ED started an investigation against Deshmukh and his associates.