NIA trying to save Param Bir Singh: Nawab Malik

Mumbai: Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik on Tuesday alleged that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and other Central agencies are trying to save former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh whom he dubbed the “mastermind” of the Antilia bomb scare case.

Speaking to reporters here, Malik said it was evident that the NIA is under the pressure of the Union government as no charge sheet has been filed in this matter. “It was Param Bir Singh who was the mastermind behind placing explosives (in SUV) near the house of a businessman in Mumbai. He had recorded his statement before the NIA and went missing for a long time. There was a deal between Singh, the BJP and the Central government to defame the MVA government,” Malik alleged. He claimed that senior NCP leader and then home minister of Maharashtra, Anil Deshmukh, was falsely implicated after false allegations were levelled against him. Deshmukh is in judicial custody in connection with a money laundering case being probed against him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

“Now, the NIA and other Central agencies are trying to save Param Bir Singh. The NIA will have to tell the truth one day. Truth cannot remain hidden for a long time,” the NCP chief spokesperson said. Malik said dismissed police officer Sachin Waze has told the Justice K U Chandiwal (retd) commission that he didn’t pay any money to Anil Deshmukh, who was the home minister at that time. —(PTI)