FIR for 'extortion' against former Mumbai Police chief Param Bir Singh

Mumbai: Mumbai Police has registered a First Information Report (FIR) against senior IPS officer Param Bir Singh, five other police officials and two others for allegedly demanding Rs 15 crore from a builder for withdrawing cases against him. Following a complaint filed by builder Shyamsundar Agrawal, the case was registered at the Marine Drive police station in south Mumbai on Wednesday, said an official. Besides Singh, the FIR named Deputy Commissioner of Police (crime branch) Akbar Pathan, Assistant Commissioner of Police Shrikant Shinde, inspector Asha Korke, crime branch inspector Nandkumar Gopale and Sanjay Patil. Agrawal’s former partner Sanjay Punamia (55) and his associate Sunil Jain (45) have been arrested in the case, the police official added.

The complaint alleged that Jain and Punamia conspired with the police officials and demanded Rs 15 crore from Agrawal for withdrawing the cases registered against him and not implicating him in fresh cases under the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA) and Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. Singh, a former Mumbai police commissioner, threatened to register a MCOCA case and arrest the builder, the complaint claimed. Singh also allegedly created forged documents with the signature of Agrawal’s nephew and extorted property worth crores of rupees, the police official said quoting the FIR. The case against Singh and others was registered under Indian Penal Code sections 387, 388, 389 (all pertaining to extortion), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 403 (dishonest misappropriation of property), 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant), 423 (dishonest or fraudulent execution of deed of transfer containing false statement of consideration), 464 (making false document in name of fictitious person), and 465, 467 468, 471 (all for forgery).

After the FIR was registered, two special teams of police were formed and searches were conducted at Punamia and Jain’s residences at Marine Drive, the official said. The duo were also arrested.

According to the complaint, after their partnership ended due to disputes in 2011, Punamia filed at least 18 cases of alleged extortion and cheating against Agrawal in Thane and Mumbai.

When Agrawal was in judicial custody in connection with a case registered at Thane Nagar Police Station in 2016, Punamia’s associate Sunil Jain sent one Manoj Ghotkar to meet the complainant’s nephew Sharad Agrawal, the FIR said.

Ghotkar allegedly asked Agrawal to meet Punamia and Param Bir Singh to get relief.

Agrawal’s two nephews then allegedly met Param Bir Singh at his residence in Thane, where DCP Parag Manere demanded Rs 20 crore to stop the action against the complainant under the stringent MCOCA, the FIR said. Agrawal and his family members gave Rs 9 crore and Jain also acquired his property in Bhayander, the complaint alleged.

After Singh’s transfer to Mumbai, Punamia again allegedly started threatening Agrawal for remaining Rs 11 crore. An extortion case was registered against Agrawal on Punamia’s complaint, alleging that the former demanded money in the name of gangster Chhota Shakil.

On March 16 and 17, Sunil Jain allegedly warned Agrawal that if he did not settle the matter with Punamia, he will file four or five new criminal cases. When Agrawal met Punamia at latter’s office on March 23, they demanded Rs 15.50 crore, according to the FIR.

Param Bir Singh was shunted out as Mumbai police commissioner in March this year after the arrest of dismissed police officer Sachin Waze in the case of an explosives-laden vehicle found near the residence of industrialist Mukesh Ambani in Mumbai. Singh later accused then state home minister Anil Deshmukh of corruption.